tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50072890659611917632024-02-18T18:06:01.720-08:00James and Alecia's Missionmission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-33883593607510089542017-07-10T14:43:00.002-07:002017-07-10T14:43:46.919-07:00Week of July 3 - 9 (July 4th & end of mission)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Monday was our last day in the California Bakersfield Mission office. We gave Elder and Sister Stephenson a quick training and made sure everything was in order. Jayline and Grace came into the office to see what we have been doing this last year and say one more goodbye. It was fun showing them around. We had our last office staff meeting.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupvAK1Z0CA5cMs-B_HVblGTf8nnL6VrKZhAneMotvTcExfKhUuy-CHznLuFn2zBe3yIUF20_T97C-E821wAbQ_QqakDW2Gji9QhbVT9Rf5tEB0eWNdJpaEiubz0WucMWbmcWXKtBtvCw/s1600/1604CA34-1934-427B-9674-5972DE1E8439-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupvAK1Z0CA5cMs-B_HVblGTf8nnL6VrKZhAneMotvTcExfKhUuy-CHznLuFn2zBe3yIUF20_T97C-E821wAbQ_QqakDW2Gji9QhbVT9Rf5tEB0eWNdJpaEiubz0WucMWbmcWXKtBtvCw/s640/1604CA34-1934-427B-9674-5972DE1E8439-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Jacobson with us. Us with President and Sister Layton. Monday is their P-day and they forgot they had scheduled a staff meeting so they hurried over in their civilian clothes. Elder Porras with Elder Salvesen, Elder Jacobson, Elder Pena, and Elder Fry.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That evening they had a going away dinner for us at the Morris's; they called it the "Porras Pizza Party". Matt and Patti Morris have a pizza oven in their back yard that he built. We rolled out our own special Italian pizza dough and put on the toppings to our liking. The pizzas were yummy! After dinner we all shared how we came to serve a mission and what the most important things are that we learned. It was very inspirational.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfFwWrpjt1_0PKQvsUGdhpDbGJrdI8A1kekCpIY35BhifI1i5uaxL87r8JFId4zNQcKtJBonDgmDo__77-1iKmeleCjQzqfvshhhodq6MLr_YgkKohcEb-QxVnaXV7VRaPH1lzBugR9s/s1600/5868EE02-38AA-4521-A8C7-55777CAAFE50-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfFwWrpjt1_0PKQvsUGdhpDbGJrdI8A1kekCpIY35BhifI1i5uaxL87r8JFId4zNQcKtJBonDgmDo__77-1iKmeleCjQzqfvshhhodq6MLr_YgkKohcEb-QxVnaXV7VRaPH1lzBugR9s/s640/5868EE02-38AA-4521-A8C7-55777CAAFE50-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was after 10:00 pm when we got home. Elder and Sister Ball and Elder Stephenson helped us carry all our stuff out to the car and get packed up. We even had a few additional items than what we came with a year ago; a computer, printer, and TV. It was a miracle that we were able to fit everything in. As I was taking the last couple of things to the car our neighbor came out and asked me what we were doing. (Shawn, who is about 40, lives there with his grandmother.) I told him we were leaving in the morning to go home to Colorado. He was surprised and acted like he was really going to miss us. He told me we were so nice. He started asking about our mission and what we did. He asked lots of questions about the church. I had a Book of Mormon in the car, so I gave it to him along with a pass along card with Elder Bennett and Elder Bankhead's phone number. He thanked me and said he would read it. He actually had met the missionaries because they live about five houses from his mother.<br />
<br />
Tuesday morning, July 4th, about 4:00 am we drove out of The Villas (our apartment complex) gate and out of Bakersfield, California. There were no fireworks, just twinkling stars in the sky.<br />
We arrived in Salt Lake City about dinner time. We visited with Gayle and Rick, my sister, and ate a delicious, healthy dinner with them.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgZ2DTEh37Ia3p3wOEhehkEhDK97VddX8UeAAGCbn-9NnzLqJAkPyVr5HIcGtwSMAxpBeUwqV9_O_-tlSl2Z-nv-T_m4jMYzUHOfGrqtzvp2FRZU1Eh6RbfmD4B0_RN1a3KnmXJfz92M/s1600/IMG_5999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgZ2DTEh37Ia3p3wOEhehkEhDK97VddX8UeAAGCbn-9NnzLqJAkPyVr5HIcGtwSMAxpBeUwqV9_O_-tlSl2Z-nv-T_m4jMYzUHOfGrqtzvp2FRZU1Eh6RbfmD4B0_RN1a3KnmXJfz92M/s320/IMG_5999.JPG" width="320" /></a>We then headed up to Logan with a stop in Clearfield to see Brad, my brother. It was very nice to see these siblings and catch up after being gone for a year. We saw fireworks light the sky from all the communities as we were driving along I 15. It was great to drive into Logan after being gone a year. Since it was so late, we just visited with my mom and brother, Rohn, for a few minutes before we went to Mark and Peggy's, my uncle, where we stay. Their little dog, Meggy, was happy to greet us also. We stayed in Logan two and a half days. It was so good to see my mom again. At 90 1/2 years old, she is doing amazing.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTw8MIYZhqpBbJ-tzUSt_vr4j7ITzotGBGT55Zqgf1QrLyao9SuFVdxWl8-b_m0CxeTXyqd0eFRaXryH3ofzf9AA5evxUbX4OqR8uwXLV3uZzKWZMsu1pKA-gvq1xrukqon8XvK5E5co/s1600/IMG_6001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTw8MIYZhqpBbJ-tzUSt_vr4j7ITzotGBGT55Zqgf1QrLyao9SuFVdxWl8-b_m0CxeTXyqd0eFRaXryH3ofzf9AA5evxUbX4OqR8uwXLV3uZzKWZMsu1pKA-gvq1xrukqon8XvK5E5co/s640/IMG_6001.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Wednesday morning when we walked out of Mark's house we were surprised to see some police action a couple of houses away. A policeman pulled over a car and told the guy to get out and get on the ground. The guy wasn't complying at first. The policeman was pointing his taser at him and yelling at him to get face down with his arms out. He finally did it. In just a couple minutes with sirens blaring three other police cars came to the scene. They handcuffed him and put him in the back of the police car while they searched his car. Soon a tow truck hauled off his car. Before they all left, one of the policemen came over to us and asked if we were okay. He said the guy had some warrants out for his arrest. They drove him off to jail.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIc7qRi3x8UT8ELRPDIcNzLS436FLggdf5TUNKR90j-gbwGqFAdFgB4kutGr7ZnaIxY5waQbJ-iwFqvtsih37x814ixgEyT8D8BVoxolVJZVxWa7K7Zz-pkgeUdkuTFXRBiPjFXB7zW4/s1600/IMG_6002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIc7qRi3x8UT8ELRPDIcNzLS436FLggdf5TUNKR90j-gbwGqFAdFgB4kutGr7ZnaIxY5waQbJ-iwFqvtsih37x814ixgEyT8D8BVoxolVJZVxWa7K7Zz-pkgeUdkuTFXRBiPjFXB7zW4/s400/IMG_6002.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
We also got to see our oldest granddaughter, Sierra, who lives in Logan and check out her apartment. She is going to Utah State University.<br />
<br />
<br />
As we were driving down Main Street in Logan one morning we saw an unusual sight; a mother duck and her ducklings crossing the road.<br />
<br />
While in Logan, we visited the Logan Mission mission office. It occupies the former Seminary building at Logan Middle School. I attended seminary in that building about 52 years ago, and my grandpa, Alvin Harris, was the Seminary Principal. It was kind of fun walking in there after so many years. President Allred and his wife just happened to be in the office. We met them and the three senior missionary couples that work there. They told us they have an average of 60 baptisms per month. Also, there are about 65 senior missionary couples serving in the mission; one couple for each stake.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n4IJ3kSsOrIDx8uOVp9qyKs5Z-8236Y2ToYclgAi0viKxh6mbP_THGgq94XAgzGPW_lj3RCwwuWMxt7w4SWKpb4sZYKciGN_NqSurheUfbhHKYISkNpdLmiCCQZ-2OBZPlyQ1mJYLBo/s1600/IMG_6006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n4IJ3kSsOrIDx8uOVp9qyKs5Z-8236Y2ToYclgAi0viKxh6mbP_THGgq94XAgzGPW_lj3RCwwuWMxt7w4SWKpb4sZYKciGN_NqSurheUfbhHKYISkNpdLmiCCQZ-2OBZPlyQ1mJYLBo/s400/IMG_6006.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
Friday after I took my mom to get her hair done and eat lunch at the Senior Citizen Center, we drove home to Parker, Colorado. James ate lunch at Fredrico's Pizza (his favorite place) with Sierra and her friend, Kyle, and Mark and Peggy. Sierra and Kyle left for Colorado about an hour before we did. Kyle lives in Fort Collins and Sierra's family lives in Castle Rock.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was after 11:00 pm when we arrived home. It was kind of strange driving into our driveway and garage and walking back into the house after a year of being away. However, it was very nice and there is nothing like home. Tyson, the guy who lived in our house the past year, moved out and is staying at Troy's house for a month while they are on their European vacation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NjrQA0WfsXHeLp0PmPcDkrnA-sghgZm5_bEjkMnYkBKQCcX_kwwADSuLITPEP974qKC3XPW2nlMwYi1g35Vt9LgOwYGqJtYQ4k-sjz9ZNr04vobFWiEoIHT0SJ25BzRPZecvMUKUpL0/s1600/IMG_6014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NjrQA0WfsXHeLp0PmPcDkrnA-sghgZm5_bEjkMnYkBKQCcX_kwwADSuLITPEP974qKC3XPW2nlMwYi1g35Vt9LgOwYGqJtYQ4k-sjz9ZNr04vobFWiEoIHT0SJ25BzRPZecvMUKUpL0/s320/IMG_6014.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Saturday we unloaded our car, got groceries, and finished preparing our talks for Sunday. Melissa, James's sister, got dropped off at our house Saturday morning. She was so excited to have us back! It is nice to be back in Colorado.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sunday morning at 8:30 we met with President Lyman who released us from honorably serving a mission. We took off our name tags. It felt strange and like something was missing not to have them on. He asked us to share what we did on our mission and what we had learned. He told us that we will still see blessings in our family in the future that we will know are direct blessings from our missionary service.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were the speakers for the Pinery Ward Sacrament Meeting. I talked on "How Service Brings Us Closer to Christ" and James's subject was "The Power of God's Love". We were able to weave in experiences of our mission in our talks. Bishop Hunter presented us with our mission plaque and welcomed us back. He said our ward was organized almost five years ago and we are the first and only senior couple to serve a mission so far. He said we have set a good example for all the rest of them. It felt like home being there with our "ward family". Most of our biological family were there also. Chloe's boyfriend, Damon, came with Tony's family. I told him it was nice to have a Chloe substitute since she is in the Dominican Republic. It was nice looking out on the audience and seeing our beautiful family and winking at some of our granddaughters. Troy's family and Janel FaceTimed us this morning from Paris where they are together. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After church, everyone came over for a family potluck meal. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FslF7nfZMJRoFnbpjg7T4PsBtsXn0MBOS4BqGLY1OyvRFi0mcxJBCpHlXKEWKXMQU_EWpYM4Xoz3WDXy2RjF4wm4PH8fuJ-DE3cKsqIpWRwuSx7xQSV_-5nGW3r0QZIMr_lilLE5Ing/s1600/1EA89DDF-414A-4C55-A61D-4AD545927E6D-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FslF7nfZMJRoFnbpjg7T4PsBtsXn0MBOS4BqGLY1OyvRFi0mcxJBCpHlXKEWKXMQU_EWpYM4Xoz3WDXy2RjF4wm4PH8fuJ-DE3cKsqIpWRwuSx7xQSV_-5nGW3r0QZIMr_lilLE5Ing/s640/1EA89DDF-414A-4C55-A61D-4AD545927E6D-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This has been a wonderful week of mixed emotions; our mission ending and returning home to family and friends! We feel very blessed to have been able to serve our mission and serve the Lord in that way. It was a wonderful experience that we will never forget and forever be blessed by!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></b></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-5539684085076364712017-07-02T21:16:00.002-07:002017-07-02T21:16:49.169-07:00Week of June 26 - July 2<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week was a week of lasts; our last Tuesday-Sunday in Bakersfield, our last time taking James's white shirts to the cleaners, our last meal out in Bakersfield, etc. We also finished reading the Book of Mormon for the third time while we were on our mission. In addition to that, we read it just before we came.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week was a little cooler. The 100+ degree temperatures were not so high and there were even two 99 degree days.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sister Breinholt and Sister Hutchinson brought in this bouquet of mums to thank their mission office "mums" and "dads". That was so sweet! Elders Fry, Salvesen, Keeney, and Thunhorst showed up soon after, so we took a picture of all of them.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPEibnKc3XjjsxHU0JERgHbs5ReMxfuf7V6i2VOxTGDCvB8Qd74Zt7mUVhu2hSe-op91YpvBWpxTy8Wd4NI3SoN9aqKPByRzKJRz6nsZSihUoDH-d_vGMGIaiHnjQMJmPnF6TFhQo6Zk/s1600/61137A1A-A6D6-4670-805F-AC20D4F4E2FB-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPEibnKc3XjjsxHU0JERgHbs5ReMxfuf7V6i2VOxTGDCvB8Qd74Zt7mUVhu2hSe-op91YpvBWpxTy8Wd4NI3SoN9aqKPByRzKJRz6nsZSihUoDH-d_vGMGIaiHnjQMJmPnF6TFhQo6Zk/s640/61137A1A-A6D6-4670-805F-AC20D4F4E2FB-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Monday evening we went to Family Home Evening at the church as usual. We had the tinest inkling something was up when we picked up Melva and she came out caring two plates of something, when we pulled into the parking lot and saw a bunch of cars instead of just a few, and when we went into the church and saw some kids running around and heard a lot of commotion in the gym. We saw some of the missionaries and went into the Primary room to help them set up the chairs in a circle like we usually do. Then all of a sudden they opened the folding doors and everyone yelled <span style="color: red;"><b>"Surprise"<span style="color: black;">!</span></b> </span>A whole bunch of people with a table full of food and a big banner where there. We were overwhelmed! My heart was beating very fast and the tears came to my eyes. Everyone started shaking our hands, giving us hugs, telling us how much we mean to them, and how much they will miss us. Bishop Butler welcomed everyone there, a blessing was said, and they made us be first in line for the food. We had just eaten dinner, but thankfully we hadn't eaten much at home. The tables were set with real tablecloths and fresh flowers. Everyone enjoyed the meal and visiting. Then Elder Hulet took charge and asked Spencer Keller to bear his testimony. He just received his mission call to the Phillipines. Elder Thomason bore his testimony and then I and James did. After that the kids got to hit the piƱata. There were more hugs and goodbyes and "we'll see you Sunday". (The lady in pink in between us shares my name. Each Sunday she enjoyed saying, "Hello Alecia" and I loved saying, "Hello Alicia" back to her.) </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2pfE9Ux_7J8CWo6Kx8TQp8eYUVp9PdDCMt3Gfzlzv7_K6KbCJS7qy7Aj4aJX1jc-u1adFzT0wpSIley_sQKWWO_Bdue992tlRW54G1Xh0d0XjptPeChd8sssnCv5XSs_FdzOzxvpVZg/s1600/22A36281-03B6-4204-950E-23AF32DFB4E7-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2pfE9Ux_7J8CWo6Kx8TQp8eYUVp9PdDCMt3Gfzlzv7_K6KbCJS7qy7Aj4aJX1jc-u1adFzT0wpSIley_sQKWWO_Bdue992tlRW54G1Xh0d0XjptPeChd8sssnCv5XSs_FdzOzxvpVZg/s640/22A36281-03B6-4204-950E-23AF32DFB4E7-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUfBnJnwwlTLwocqUpDPG6cp8ia8PM7TdBfAr5of2oT40jeKpK0xV9brl-MO3juHmsqFFd-Q5RYwrbrmqI2zpcLkQ_sDWoc3ZEQLjUo2rJCxcrW00GSQvG3IlUwBNEsj0d-YBzuuGX9M/s1600/IMG_5944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUfBnJnwwlTLwocqUpDPG6cp8ia8PM7TdBfAr5of2oT40jeKpK0xV9brl-MO3juHmsqFFd-Q5RYwrbrmqI2zpcLkQ_sDWoc3ZEQLjUo2rJCxcrW00GSQvG3IlUwBNEsj0d-YBzuuGX9M/s400/IMG_5944.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday the Alvarez's invited us over for dinner along with the four Spanish missionaries in our ward. However, the missionaries did not make it because they were stuck in traffic coming home from the temple. Brother Alvarez was telling us how his mother got married after church last week. They had an appointment with the Bishop to talk about the arrangements to get married, but weren't planning on it right then. She just happened to be wearing a white dress. They were married before, but got divorced for financial reasons so she could get social security benefits from her previous husband. After the wedding ceremony, Bishop Butler asked Santiago when he wanted to get baptized. The missionaries had been teaching him, but he couldn't get baptized because they were not married. He said he didn't know and the Bishop said, "How about tonight?" So that is what they did. It all happened so quickly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo24UjqM6og0cmJxcBVBT96S-FDesqdGlQPMyVI6XeeOHM6HloK0KfHwxr-xshEYzd-ITYgjp3b_0DtkfuLfiUDnEbdXiw50SHk4CCKD9RlbhT7S48sP_jvdutP6F6VtspKKw8HJGPqk/s1600/IMG_5953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNo24UjqM6og0cmJxcBVBT96S-FDesqdGlQPMyVI6XeeOHM6HloK0KfHwxr-xshEYzd-ITYgjp3b_0DtkfuLfiUDnEbdXiw50SHk4CCKD9RlbhT7S48sP_jvdutP6F6VtspKKw8HJGPqk/s400/IMG_5953.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
We went by the Assistant's house the other day so we could see where they live. It is a nice three bedroom house in a nice neighborhood. The living room is filled with bunk beds as well as the three bedrooms. Elder Bennett and Elder Bankhead use the family room for their bedroom. Arriving elders stay with them their first night in the mission and departing missionaries stay there their last night before their early morning flights home. The sister missionaries stay at the mission home with President and Sister Layton.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
One day around 10:00 am as I was washing my hands in the bathroom at the mission office, I looked in the mirror and nearly scared myself. I forgot to put my makeup on. We had a lot of phone calls before we left that morning, and I guess I got distracted. I promptly went home and fixed the situation.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Friday morning was the last day of the boot camp Ingrid and I went to this month. It was not until we walked all the way to the park and I started to put my mat on the ground that I noticed I was carrying my purse over my shoulder. I never take my purse with me. I guess maybe I am losing it! After our rigorous workout, they had a little going away party for us with muffins and fruit. We gave them the little booklets, "The Way to a Happier Family" with a message and our names and phone numbers in the front.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Friday evening, we visited with Sonia and Eddie to tell them goodbye. Well, actually Eddie was called into work so he was not there. They are the cousins that Verenice lived with while she was here. They and their two boys are such a sweet family. The missionaries are still teaching them. Sonia gave us fresh peaches off her tree before we left.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bakersfield has a "love locks" bridge. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it on my walk Saturday morning on the river walk. The river walk is not like the River Walk in San Antonio, but it was very peaceful and pleasant along the Kern River. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlfj2HwDa5flN5dSFMEkYQ-PtHQiAtRjvsA_x-dDaWL8qz0wwwVAjsBM4t_HB8OxYLyVbK_e3tHr43p8ySD5oO99aFKkWe0Aw06m4YoYF84V3JecqgnWcTlSjaEL3tZVQyXYKGZmPSQ0/s1600/073EBB33-D0BC-46FA-A8D7-AFD6C5172686-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlfj2HwDa5flN5dSFMEkYQ-PtHQiAtRjvsA_x-dDaWL8qz0wwwVAjsBM4t_HB8OxYLyVbK_e3tHr43p8ySD5oO99aFKkWe0Aw06m4YoYF84V3JecqgnWcTlSjaEL3tZVQyXYKGZmPSQ0/s640/073EBB33-D0BC-46FA-A8D7-AFD6C5172686-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_q8mU5iICKHyumkEUAPdFPS6TuvXwWd7G7lqv2-U6wte83KckVfrPCvOxED7b8sblPzeKTypmCJyEZIyt8pG8r0K6_2kqQknsiAQ3uJtwoaTtrMqX2RlOxAGsqsFkN0G0YjYwyfYeW8/s1600/IMG_5964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_q8mU5iICKHyumkEUAPdFPS6TuvXwWd7G7lqv2-U6wte83KckVfrPCvOxED7b8sblPzeKTypmCJyEZIyt8pG8r0K6_2kqQknsiAQ3uJtwoaTtrMqX2RlOxAGsqsFkN0G0YjYwyfYeW8/s400/IMG_5964.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
Saturday we finished taking stuff over to the Stephenson's apartment (the new mission office couple) before they arrived in the afternoon. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then we attended a special baptism. John Sullivan who is about 75 years old was baptized by his returned missionary grandson. Missionaries knocked on his door about forty years ago. His wife and children joined the church, but he was not interested in their message. His wife has been inactive for many years. John saw the change his grandson's mission made in his life and how his countenance changed. It made an impression on him. A few months ago President Layton was invited to an ice hockey game by one of the stake presidents. President Judd's father-in-law, John Sullivan, was also at the game. President Layton and he visited during the game. When they were leaving, John surprised himself by asking President Layton to send the missionaries by. Of course President Layton did and the missionaries taught John and he accepted the invitation to be baptized! Now he hopes that his wife will start coming back to church. She did attend his baptism. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUgI4_kVJAeAncnPyCUhzKiUuFqdyyRB9gxYsR4rFhh44z0RZyXtr_miCl5Nytx5LqZU_tyjL7OjVoRx6L1zKmWsBmlDXrKEo9M872MST3PR0F-dqVSxUjyWgpVtVcHSBhM1YzXBE5Gk/s1600/IMG_5973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sunday Bishop Butler bore his testimony. Then with a little bit of a choked up voice he said, "I can not sit down without thanking Elder and Sister Porras for their sacrifice to come on a mission and their service to our ward and members." James also bore his testimony about God's love for us and the love we need to have for others. James bore his testimony again in Priesthood Meeting. Nervously, I bore my testimony in Spanish in the Spanish Group Sacrament Meeting. A couple weeks ago I wrote my simple testimony down and had Jayline translate it into Spanish for me. James helped me practice pronouncing the words. Everyone told me they appreciated my testimony and understood what I said. There were lots of hugs and kisses after church again. It was hard to say goodbye to all these people we came to love.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6R5ur0eDJ19Md4SiJ4eOVWsjiWb_p8UfD4BwDj7YDhl0w87JWFEWnJUkkVDqmtlkYgh6Fp-5zhIpJQaUACjWwNrBL8EfhSNg316JUyJv6gzU8SYtUxc3V0tk8jb2sYw2_MqeQWlWDDg/s1600/IMG_5968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6R5ur0eDJ19Md4SiJ4eOVWsjiWb_p8UfD4BwDj7YDhl0w87JWFEWnJUkkVDqmtlkYgh6Fp-5zhIpJQaUACjWwNrBL8EfhSNg316JUyJv6gzU8SYtUxc3V0tk8jb2sYw2_MqeQWlWDDg/s400/IMG_5968.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The group leader, Brother Parada, his kids, and his parents. His parents are here visiting from Sweden.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbS5RqRhKl_neq_iG92Ns31YIz8DGjoYyfqwbHUmqd5X2RBcIlI_rcxVyW3Zru1Ztg8_J1ZXQp_sVc24x258EfcIeoY6AUbXFP0GbR2g13jgrF3o8JkExm2-6htuK-kvunPDbPxjFEac/s1600/9D5ACB87-1A50-4764-86E5-E1DE09C6C885-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbS5RqRhKl_neq_iG92Ns31YIz8DGjoYyfqwbHUmqd5X2RBcIlI_rcxVyW3Zru1Ztg8_J1ZXQp_sVc24x258EfcIeoY6AUbXFP0GbR2g13jgrF3o8JkExm2-6htuK-kvunPDbPxjFEac/s1600/9D5ACB87-1A50-4764-86E5-E1DE09C6C885-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbS5RqRhKl_neq_iG92Ns31YIz8DGjoYyfqwbHUmqd5X2RBcIlI_rcxVyW3Zru1Ztg8_J1ZXQp_sVc24x258EfcIeoY6AUbXFP0GbR2g13jgrF3o8JkExm2-6htuK-kvunPDbPxjFEac/s1600/9D5ACB87-1A50-4764-86E5-E1DE09C6C885-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbS5RqRhKl_neq_iG92Ns31YIz8DGjoYyfqwbHUmqd5X2RBcIlI_rcxVyW3Zru1Ztg8_J1ZXQp_sVc24x258EfcIeoY6AUbXFP0GbR2g13jgrF3o8JkExm2-6htuK-kvunPDbPxjFEac/s320/9D5ACB87-1A50-4764-86E5-E1DE09C6C885-COLLAGE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbS5RqRhKl_neq_iG92Ns31YIz8DGjoYyfqwbHUmqd5X2RBcIlI_rcxVyW3Zru1Ztg8_J1ZXQp_sVc24x258EfcIeoY6AUbXFP0GbR2g13jgrF3o8JkExm2-6htuK-kvunPDbPxjFEac/s1600/9D5ACB87-1A50-4764-86E5-E1DE09C6C885-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTufI3_EZ3vYsrQjPldaee5pkoz5wBZcztkc6pi98AaBLWbceU-4ZBuruhUjwlUul3KqxW1paBGIQPCZhzJnnEHcu4B6hmOmZ8hJbylcD-RiFFHRtgXgdG1V8-4ie4X9Uez78FnlPruT0/s1600/E5A784ED-3ADF-4DDC-A9FB-A8F556E56E24-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTufI3_EZ3vYsrQjPldaee5pkoz5wBZcztkc6pi98AaBLWbceU-4ZBuruhUjwlUul3KqxW1paBGIQPCZhzJnnEHcu4B6hmOmZ8hJbylcD-RiFFHRtgXgdG1V8-4ie4X9Uez78FnlPruT0/s320/E5A784ED-3ADF-4DDC-A9FB-A8F556E56E24-COLLAGE.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jayline and Sister Medina with James and Alecia<br />
Miriam, Alecia, Nora, Vickie (they are sisters)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
</a></div>
<br />
After church we were invited to Jose and Irma Godinez's house for dinner. They had the Spanish elders over and some other members as well. We ate pombazos again. It is a dish that is very popular in Mexico. They made it for us another time. The drink was made with spinach, pineapple, and chia seeds. We ate outside on their covered patio which had misters cooling us off. They gave us a bunch of fresh avocados to take home. We took pictures and hugged again and said our final goodbyes.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUgI4_kVJAeAncnPyCUhzKiUuFqdyyRB9gxYsR4rFhh44z0RZyXtr_miCl5Nytx5LqZU_tyjL7OjVoRx6L1zKmWsBmlDXrKEo9M872MST3PR0F-dqVSxUjyWgpVtVcHSBhM1YzXBE5Gk/s320/IMG_5973.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jose & Irma Godinez</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBSTiq_FGmZhw_Vsz-iR4lYWlIo-lWZqpfye2dmEd0fTxgD4Jz3OAjqJ8qhXIzJXk8bIz4NwAyUwy_IvyWzSidTm-54WchA7jSkFsHkQ7Nv96nauQvcWjmvGEOPYJg_qRX7SQcq0Ei8s/s320/IMG_5972.JPG" width="240" /></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Both Elder Solis and Elder Stewart gave James ties today. This is Elder Stewart wearing the nice, purple tie James gave him last week. Elder Stewart also has diabetes so he and Elder Porras have something in common.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></b></div>
<br />
Then we went to our second dinner at the Ball's house. They had us and the Stephenson's over. We got to know the Stephenson's a little and answer some of their questions about the mission.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_q8mU5iICKHyumkEUAPdFPS6TuvXwWd7G7lqv2-U6wte83KckVfrPCvOxED7b8sblPzeKTypmCJyEZIyt8pG8r0K6_2kqQknsiAQ3uJtwoaTtrMqX2RlOxAGsqsFkN0G0YjYwyfYeW8/s1600/IMG_5964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
<br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-65462561422284627602017-06-25T16:04:00.000-07:002017-06-25T19:45:03.348-07:00Week of June 19 - 25<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week was sweltering with temperatures in the 100's up to 112 degrees. Thank heavens for air conditioning!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tuesday morning we picked Elder Cruz up at 6:30 am in Taft where he is serving. As he left the apartment he said "I love you" to his companion and the other companionship that were there. That was so sweet! We drove him to Sacramento for his noon appointment at the USCIS (United States Citizenship Immigration Services) to have his fingerprints and picture taken. His mother also had the same appointment. We arrived early at about 11:15 and Elder Cruz was finished in a few minutes, so we waited for his family. At first, he just wanted to leave without seeing them. We told him that would be mean since they were expecting to see him. They arrived shortly after noon and it was quite a reunion. His mother hugged him and cried for the longest time. She didn't want to let go. He almost had to pry her off. His 17 year old sister, 12 year old brother, and 15 year old cousin were also there. After Elder Cruz's mother finished being fingerprinted, she said let's go eat. James was torn as to what to do, but finally decided it was the right thing to do and I agreed with him. We went to California Burrito nearby and enjoyed our lunch and watching this family interact. When Elder Cruz finished eating, he got up, sat across from his mother, put a very serious face on, opened up the Book of Mormon, and began teaching and testifying to his mother and family. (His brother is the only one who is a member of the church.) Elder Cruz talked about the importance of his mission and shared his testimony of faith, prayer, and the Book of Mormon. He read them some scriptures and invited his mother to also read and ask of God. It was powerful and is mother was in tears as she listened. She said she would. Elder Cruz wrote the steps of how to pray in the front of the Book of Mormon before he gave it to her and signed it, Elder Cruz, "your son". Elder Cruz told his brother to read the Book of Mormon with her. There were more hugs and we all said goodbye and drove off our separate ways.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s640/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</a>
<br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7HP2_x6h3uJ6fybbXiko2BDCgbAbryMBmMTcc-2rrBwLYmqFStM0oHxb0aq9trNCJ-qf8qlyEKq9Rm3FCt168hz1eMuJopjN_1OmXc4uT-KNvKFPnoe82eVELOkkmusGWvXeLScdFqOc/s1600/5210E748-FA70-4F0D-A52B-4CF848CD8FE9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elder Cruz has been on his mission for four months. He barely knew any English before his mission, but now he can carry on a simple conversation quite well in English. He is learning English quickly even though he is on a Spanish speaking mission. Elder Cruz told us more of his story all those hours we were driving in the car. He joined the church when he was 14 years old in Mexico; only four years ago. A lady his mother knew introduced him to the church. He made good friends at church with four other boys about his age. On a trip to the temple, they promised each other that they would all go on missions. So far all but one are on a mission. A couple years later his father and little brother joined the church. His family was pretty well off with several businesses and land in Acapulco, Mexico. The cartel kidnapped his mother and held her for ransom in exchange for all their land and businesses. After they got what they wanted, she was released and told not to report it or they would kill her. She was able to escape the country with her two children, but they lost all their earthly possessions. His mother was granted political asylum here and wears an ankle bracelet to track her whereabouts. It was hard, but they all did what they could and have been able to make it. Elder Cruz worked and handed his paycheck over to his mother. His mother worked several jobs. In the evenings, Elder Cruz and his little brother would collect cans and bottles for the recycle money. His sister now works at a restaurant also. It was a real sacrifice for Elder Cruz to leave his mom and siblings to come on his mission because he was basically the "man" of the house, but he knew it was important and that is what the Lord wanted him to do. His family has been blessed. The rest of the story. . .after the kidnappers released Elder Cruz's mother, they found out his father was part of the cartel. He is still in Mexico and doesn't really have anything to do with his family. Elder Cruz talked to him on the phone last Christmas and said it seemed like his dad didn't care how hard it has been on his mom and the family. We also talked about <span style="background-color: white; color: red;">service</span> and Elder Cruz said that before his mission he never really understood about service or the power of service. On his mission he realized the best way to get along with his companions was to serve them. He started ironing his first companion's, Elder Thomason, shirts. After a couple of weeks, Elder Thomason turned the service around and ironed Elder Cruz's shirts the rest of their time together. Now Elder Cruz likes to make food for his current companion, Elder Barney.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last Wednesday morning we found out that the Stephenson's, the senior missionary couple coming to replace us and the Balls, wouldn't be coming this weekend as expected. Their 47 year old son died, and they left the MTC to help with the funeral arrangements. President Layton told us he suffered from depression for years and it got the better of him. We don't know if that means he committed suicide or if it had something to do with medications. Nonetheless, it is terribly sad. The Stephenson's said they were still going to come, but it will be a week or so later than expected. We were going to train them in our responsibility areas next week, but that is not going to happen now. We may have one day with them depending on when they get here.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKgeqEfJ5ILCzhP4RXopDavTi34QIilK5Zc6d85LP4HtI1n_5C_v4FUah21Q2lox7x-fMOM3O4bLshK6ZWoTGp5uivJr4t6yO9_o-2hrV-rAirm4jKaIfFMekMlvEXMKb5hyphenhyphenFMDrtFrQ/s1600/IMG_5928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKgeqEfJ5ILCzhP4RXopDavTi34QIilK5Zc6d85LP4HtI1n_5C_v4FUah21Q2lox7x-fMOM3O4bLshK6ZWoTGp5uivJr4t6yO9_o-2hrV-rAirm4jKaIfFMekMlvEXMKb5hyphenhyphenFMDrtFrQ/s400/IMG_5928.JPG" width="300" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKtcYmLUT6c_IPcIDoRb8Q8CQ7nHiC4_8a0JcGzgQCLem0eXn3FRRdH7T7q5C_qCHU2OsHwz5zvlmTiDUcujR5TjUW2bo11XbjmAK2Hno7lfy4LKzvHAL7h256L3PnsBACkbQqx4wVuA/s1600/IMG_5902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKtcYmLUT6c_IPcIDoRb8Q8CQ7nHiC4_8a0JcGzgQCLem0eXn3FRRdH7T7q5C_qCHU2OsHwz5zvlmTiDUcujR5TjUW2bo11XbjmAK2Hno7lfy4LKzvHAL7h256L3PnsBACkbQqx4wVuA/s200/IMG_5902.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Elder Bankhead and Elder Bennett</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLfrXGSvqeiaP3JtqLNzhck7dA7Z7jPLAADtm6PGC28Ycgor4qMheiRw_FPgcDnUosXC-pZqr1by-CCidq8_Ry4c859gisCzHHM8kbCvGdlxlJc4pYavX3hWMpUnrXKjfmqcDqPaqEy0/s1600/IMG_5901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLfrXGSvqeiaP3JtqLNzhck7dA7Z7jPLAADtm6PGC28Ycgor4qMheiRw_FPgcDnUosXC-pZqr1by-CCidq8_Ry4c859gisCzHHM8kbCvGdlxlJc4pYavX3hWMpUnrXKjfmqcDqPaqEy0/s400/IMG_5901.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Hatchcock and Elder Hulet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thursday we took the Assistants, Elder Bennett (Pocatello, ID) and Elder Bankhead (Wellsville, UT), out for lunch. That evening we treated Elder Hulet (Cedar City, UT) and Elder Hatchcock (West Valley, UT) to dinner at Black Bear Diner.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Friday I worked with Sister Layton in the office for about four hours on the 2017 mission history. She was a big help because she can name all the missionaries really quickly. I have to label underneath all the pictures who is in them. I had gotten a lot of the zone conference pictures and other pictures off the CALBAK-Layton Facebook page where she posts them. We decided they were a little blurry, so we went thru and replaced them all with the pictures directly from her phone sent to the mission email. I want to have the mission history finished up through June when we leave so it will be easy for the next person to finish the rest of the year.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
James has been calling all of the missionary companionships to tell them what their new monthly mileage amounts are, reminding them of the proper way to fill out their daily mileage reports, and telling them goodbye while he is at it. He has called about three fourths of them, but still has more to finish up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKCg_idqSr1mfCJVY50igc_kflTCWHX1il4p5uH-xDGuT4eqqaTsb-bLDBj8izjePE6WZjtisQwtrn2uZFAEZhc1ghqo8J4BFFi1XuZ_TcahZr69BpTP2MtayNSG_i6XU_fyPSQfaroQ/s1600/91E1C901-B945-422F-A377-0E45BBCC6F03-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKCg_idqSr1mfCJVY50igc_kflTCWHX1il4p5uH-xDGuT4eqqaTsb-bLDBj8izjePE6WZjtisQwtrn2uZFAEZhc1ghqo8J4BFFi1XuZ_TcahZr69BpTP2MtayNSG_i6XU_fyPSQfaroQ/s400/91E1C901-B945-422F-A377-0E45BBCC6F03-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a>Friday evening we took Ingrid & Bruce Ball out to dinner and they took us to the movie "Wonder Woman". </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Saturday we moved most of the furniture out of our apartment over to apartment #173 where the Stephenson's will live when they come. We only left the couch, our bed, some folding chairs, and a portable table for our computer. We are packing up our stuff, so everything won't be left to do at the last minute.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBg5rssOm4P0JkhyrihjUepBO0NKGeg3SWLEFuwjZsS5bD1f1FhE3dmXfznERtrd8f5Jfnv_tL6sjsktjxd4OeSkgJmHQ5Z9d5PjnkluDRhsFpIvODm1X-tml_INdiwWbefPjacg23jM/s1600/FBA825AB-C971-4BCA-B206-6CEE3AF641DE-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBg5rssOm4P0JkhyrihjUepBO0NKGeg3SWLEFuwjZsS5bD1f1FhE3dmXfznERtrd8f5Jfnv_tL6sjsktjxd4OeSkgJmHQ5Z9d5PjnkluDRhsFpIvODm1X-tml_INdiwWbefPjacg23jM/s320/FBA825AB-C971-4BCA-B206-6CEE3AF641DE-COLLAGE.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Saturday afternoon we went to a baptism for Robyn Rockwell. Apparently she was baptized when she was a child, but went inactive for many years. She found the church again, but her records could not be located, so she was rebaptized. Her mother and sister and her family came from New Mexico for the event. (Sister Manning played her flute.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpe8qA3vGOa9pbearcoAknHs04CYrIm3niaNP5TXQNgtjuvWU2xJClImWv1J04FvT9Wg2QripHMM3eB_2WMEKMDZWzVBO3CjqatMOXw0afg3isvDXw2XK2kbShFQJqdejYHKUYI0W0qY/s1600/IMG_5921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpe8qA3vGOa9pbearcoAknHs04CYrIm3niaNP5TXQNgtjuvWU2xJClImWv1J04FvT9Wg2QripHMM3eB_2WMEKMDZWzVBO3CjqatMOXw0afg3isvDXw2XK2kbShFQJqdejYHKUYI0W0qY/s400/IMG_5921.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Saturday evening we attended the baptism of Craig Davis who is almost nine years old. His mother and his other five siblings are the ones who live in a hotel room.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
James gave a talk in the Spanish group Sacrament Meeting today on "Our Responsibilities as Members of Christ's Church". He has gotten more fluent in Spanish since we have been here because he has been using it quite often. James has been able to use his language skills to benefit the mission. He is the one we all turn the phone over to if someone calls or we need to call someone who speaks Spanish. He has been able to help the incoming missionaries who do not know English understand what is going on, get settled, and answer their questions. President Layton asked us to be the ones to take Elder Cruz to Sacramento this week because James speaks Spanish. It has been a real asset to this mission. In general, James has the gift of being able to talk to people, motivate them, and make them feel good in any language. The Balls, Elder Morris, President and Sister Layton, and others have commented on his connection to people and how he communicates with them. Sometimes James feels bad because he cannot write very well and does not read or write Spanish. However, we happened to read a couple verses of scripture recently that made him realize many great men were better in communicating verbally than in writing. We read in 2 Nephi 33:l ". . . neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." and in Ether 12:33 Moroni says, "And I said unto him, Lord the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing, for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them."<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzpZ3cCdBvuw4VjZza9bff-Aup2WVsF9Gj7zCFxsVtZAE9r5Vp-TNvd-tReM_rFOQLnV8KVrsq1km5gW600tQJqhkTj0xBXyMYqxuj0iEnVcFXGNYxpeHq6qDIUDMY8BEtI_Io-NYoP8/s1600/IMG_5914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzpZ3cCdBvuw4VjZza9bff-Aup2WVsF9Gj7zCFxsVtZAE9r5Vp-TNvd-tReM_rFOQLnV8KVrsq1km5gW600tQJqhkTj0xBXyMYqxuj0iEnVcFXGNYxpeHq6qDIUDMY8BEtI_Io-NYoP8/s200/IMG_5914.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We gave away two Book of Mormons this week. One to Charlotte and Alan, our neighbors, who like to sit out on their patio in the mornings and read. The other one was put in The Villas club house library.<br />
<br />
After the baptism on Saturday, Elder Stewart commented on James's nice purple tie and said he really liked it. Well, James took that tie to church today and gifted it to Elder Stewart.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-4304182867269804862017-06-18T16:38:00.001-07:002017-06-18T16:38:53.744-07:00Week of June 12 - 18 (Father's Day)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8jvllybODQ8xsUjuWqqFDD43TcKk9OJc7jZl0Ofn1SaKxw47WmumUEIKRSO_Y2tM83zaEhn5NHM2VlMIKsoOzaRhBis_HvHvFeszomR2yYvTbAabGg2s842DDB8811FsbuCh7Dg4N8c/s1600/IMG_1794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8jvllybODQ8xsUjuWqqFDD43TcKk9OJc7jZl0Ofn1SaKxw47WmumUEIKRSO_Y2tM83zaEhn5NHM2VlMIKsoOzaRhBis_HvHvFeszomR2yYvTbAabGg2s842DDB8811FsbuCh7Dg4N8c/s1600/IMG_1794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8jvllybODQ8xsUjuWqqFDD43TcKk9OJc7jZl0Ofn1SaKxw47WmumUEIKRSO_Y2tM83zaEhn5NHM2VlMIKsoOzaRhBis_HvHvFeszomR2yYvTbAabGg2s842DDB8811FsbuCh7Dg4N8c/s400/IMG_1794.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
We worked at the mission office all week as usual and had things going on almost every night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u>
<u><br /></u>
<u><br /></u>
<u>Monday</u> night was a going away party at the Bishop Butler's back yard and pool for the Farleys who are moving to Idaho. We stayed for awhile and then went to Family Home Evening at the church. There we watched a video on "The Plan of Salvation" and discussed it. Then we played "Signs".</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Tuesday</u> after work we met the four Spanish speaking Elders from our ward at Hodel's Country Dining to treat them to dinner. It was Elders Thomason, Stewart, Solis, and Atkinson.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We attended the Bakersfield Zone Conference on Wednesday. All four Bakersfield zones were in attendance, so it was a pretty big group. President and Sister Layton focused their teaching on <span style="color: red;"><b>"Faith to Find"<span style="color: black;">.</span> </b></span>It is important to focus on <span style="color: red;">faith</span> instead of fear. When we obey and are all in, our <span style="color: red;">faith</span> grows. Obedience brings blessings, which increases <span style="color: red;">faith</span>. God provided miracles in the Old Testament days to the help the people of Israel gather to a promised land. The gathering of Israel in these the latter days is the culminating event of the world, so we should expect guidance and miracles from God. Several missionaries shared their favorite story from the Book of Mormon that is an example of <span style="color: red;">faith</span> and miracles. We learned that <span style="color: red;">faith </span>involves action, doing, and work. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZItk5LvDTSV_hGduvqY7HsfOm3TAMvOdCru4mbkOpLXwBrOFZjiacGuUVtfD3mNC6zUW-5I7w2VOyAt2T5RqjvFWnpk2udSvx-UeQAYd23iqyujBH8ilvOJe_y8Frr6YN6nkv4awOiQ/s640/18B54228-6E10-47C3-92EC-5753D955C6D5-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54dmTenrzldN7-x2VX9EwEDaYQM0Mp78o1uE6ocqFexwHvJdijfeAbqhh73qkkHIY73yWxD0cmOBe8X0EJaL9rdNBnYsPNY9eo6Qd7RCRqXYfx3pIm7oYw7lbxFyBtvOE_QCZuyL2O8w/s1600/706BAD12-A5BA-4D4B-A2D2-51ECA9C69308-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54dmTenrzldN7-x2VX9EwEDaYQM0Mp78o1uE6ocqFexwHvJdijfeAbqhh73qkkHIY73yWxD0cmOBe8X0EJaL9rdNBnYsPNY9eo6Qd7RCRqXYfx3pIm7oYw7lbxFyBtvOE_QCZuyL2O8w/s400/706BAD12-A5BA-4D4B-A2D2-51ECA9C69308-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u><br /></u>
<u>Wednesday</u> evening we ate dinner with Elder Solis (Chile) and Elder Atkinson (Hyrum, UT) at Melva's house. She and her mother fixed foods popular in their home country of Panama. We had empanadas filled with ground beef, yucca, potato salad with peas and beets, rice and chicken, cantaloupe and papaya. It was all very delicious. After dinner, we took Melva and her mother to the hospital to visit Nilka, Melva's sister. She had been in the hospital since Monday afternoon with a bad infection in her intestines. She has to be really careful with health issues since she had a liver and kidney transplant eleven years ago.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Thursday</u> afternoon, Nilka was released from the hospital and I picked her up and took her home. They do not have a car. On my way back to the office, I had an accident! I was making a U-turn in the middle of the street and a car came out of nowhere and hit our car on the passenger door on the driver's side. It was scary and left me shaking. I don't really know whose fault it was, but we think it was the guy in the other car. Thank heavens, he was very nice. We exchanged information, but did not call the police. The side of our car has some pretty good dents, but since VW is buying our car back in less than a month we won't be getting it fixed. His car did not have much damage. We'll see if his insurance company contacts us. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ewb0iFS-6R4gC5nerdJ-NXPijwj-ZyhteUQbIWhgh1zLv3jkOUA1tQSelqiOQjG3Jxz0aBHfAr48KHHtwGZcKZoWNDHWBBygSMfBaz92f1OmpL0yYcqTMoFn9jH5jx8ajMQlbqZDgFg/s1600/IMG_5874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ewb0iFS-6R4gC5nerdJ-NXPijwj-ZyhteUQbIWhgh1zLv3jkOUA1tQSelqiOQjG3Jxz0aBHfAr48KHHtwGZcKZoWNDHWBBygSMfBaz92f1OmpL0yYcqTMoFn9jH5jx8ajMQlbqZDgFg/s320/IMG_5874.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFqGLIM8HNfLIlXPKO3brrG3KjeAiMEWl0OB4KNm7LZxWdoBKthwmHAsaV3AjCJme8NL278mt2BHSJesiOF1YEWr98YwQ2JdCdOn1VVs-9GRjI9gr6biN4fo0_LHtILYDEZjWIZzhBGg/s1600/IMG_5872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFqGLIM8HNfLIlXPKO3brrG3KjeAiMEWl0OB4KNm7LZxWdoBKthwmHAsaV3AjCJme8NL278mt2BHSJesiOF1YEWr98YwQ2JdCdOn1VVs-9GRjI9gr6biN4fo0_LHtILYDEZjWIZzhBGg/s320/IMG_5872.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59AjFpMr4nv9PV7gvjuImZ1JjRSxG0C4hFlNwS5Z7bMmotjxEp8B22eeksAGzSTmD5lj6ujQ8JkhL1MH95KZ67Kw7gMCNved_yN9oQYX3J2PY9MntmLNd2CW8WB_FA_rtkJuBTcl9yDA/s1600/IMG_5881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59AjFpMr4nv9PV7gvjuImZ1JjRSxG0C4hFlNwS5Z7bMmotjxEp8B22eeksAGzSTmD5lj6ujQ8JkhL1MH95KZ67Kw7gMCNved_yN9oQYX3J2PY9MntmLNd2CW8WB_FA_rtkJuBTcl9yDA/s320/IMG_5881.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Friday</u> night was date night! We double dated with Tim and Nancy Layton to Outback Steak House where we had a good dinner and conversation. All of us except President Layton had changed to our casual clothes. He said he only likes to get dressed once a day.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first heat wave of the summer started on <u>Saturday</u> with a temperature of 103 degrees. Bakersfield will be in the 100's (up to 113) for at least the next nine or ten days. That is all the further my phone shows. We beat the afternoon heat by watching two movies in the nice air conditioned movie theatre. We saw "My Cousin Rachel" and "Megan Leavey". Then we drove the thirty minutes to Weedpatch to see what is left of Weedpatch Camp. It was built in l936 to house migrant workers during the Great Depression and later farmers who came during the Dust Bowl looking for work. These migrants were known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okie" title="Okie"><span style="color: black;">Okie</span></a><span style="color: black;">s</span> and were discriminated by the locals. The plight of the Okies and a description of Weedpatch Camp were written about in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck" title="John Steinbeck"><span style="color: black;">John Steinbeck</span></a><u>'s</u> book <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grapes_of_Wrath" title="The Grapes of Wrath">The Grapes of Wrath</a></i>. There are only three buildings remaining from the original camp; the community hall, the post office, and the library. The Weedpatch Camp continues to assist and house migrant workers.</div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div class="thumb tleft">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGi-f9_JwrXMtHNcLSGhX6M4baRiP0FIgf2ixxUqlX-5r7kyxu8hzRNzkffUCQpzqAPGIuYPnQV87DETLIK2UpV82aIx4YD1-YsK__PaUEqivVgi4TRmNAg3HMQbB_cwXLi8dSSveEh8/s1600/39ABF50E-03D5-4B8C-904F-F95082147744-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGi-f9_JwrXMtHNcLSGhX6M4baRiP0FIgf2ixxUqlX-5r7kyxu8hzRNzkffUCQpzqAPGIuYPnQV87DETLIK2UpV82aIx4YD1-YsK__PaUEqivVgi4TRmNAg3HMQbB_cwXLi8dSSveEh8/s400/39ABF50E-03D5-4B8C-904F-F95082147744-COLLAGE.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;">
<a class="image" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-LibPO.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" data-file-height="1764" data-file-width="2526" height="154" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-LibPO.jpg/220px-2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-LibPO.jpg" width="220" /></a> <br />
<div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify">
<a class="internal" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-LibPO.jpg" title="Enlarge"><br /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;">
<a class="image" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-housing.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" data-file-height="1200" data-file-width="1674" height="158" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-housing.jpg/220px-2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-housing.jpg" width="220" /></a><br />
<div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify">
<a class="internal" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0820-WeedpatchCamp-housing.jpg" title="Enlarge"><br /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<u></u><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKwJoyxGOIocMSSE8364N91ngiizZVCV01QQ0UjfD1bsp-hOqdv-wGxIozbHlVqTL-wGh_BB-Rl11AJyfuwPRwQXoiWZ2tlWfMgBemhjnBjglQcvq13urnQntq5KuPua9NLrBty8gI8w/s1600/IMG_5890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKwJoyxGOIocMSSE8364N91ngiizZVCV01QQ0UjfD1bsp-hOqdv-wGxIozbHlVqTL-wGh_BB-Rl11AJyfuwPRwQXoiWZ2tlWfMgBemhjnBjglQcvq13urnQntq5KuPua9NLrBty8gI8w/s1600/IMG_5890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKwJoyxGOIocMSSE8364N91ngiizZVCV01QQ0UjfD1bsp-hOqdv-wGxIozbHlVqTL-wGh_BB-Rl11AJyfuwPRwQXoiWZ2tlWfMgBemhjnBjglQcvq13urnQntq5KuPua9NLrBty8gI8w/s400/IMG_5890.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<u><b></b><i></i><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></u><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u>
<u></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><br /></u></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Sunday</u> was Father's Day. James enjoyed all the calls from his kids and grandkids and being spoiled more than usual! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Staheli's from our home ward were in Bakersfield yesterday and were hoping to see us. They left a message on James's phone, but he didn't see the message until today when we got home from church and they were already in Los Angeles. Darn it! Their son, Jonathan, served in this mission a couple years ago and he was showing them around Bakersfield and the other areas where he served.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-87550570204248865482017-06-11T18:40:00.001-07:002017-06-11T18:40:32.557-07:00Week of June 5 - 11<div style="text-align: justify;">
Family Home Evening this week was about the price our Savior paid for us. He went thru pain and agony to pay the price of atonement for each one of us, and it is up to us whether or not we accept his offering and sacrifice. It was an object lesson that made an impression on everyone. The price of having a donut was 5-10 pushups. Elder Solis agreed to do the pushups for each person who wanted a donut. Even if you did not accept the donut, he still did the pushups. It was a fun activity to make a great point! We also had birthday cake to celebrate Hillary's 22nd birthday.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtli2eimU5oCo4Nh7qOo0Z7Lk0U9BX2DZAq2sMjn4JUKFzPNAglSuj0xmLa-QHBTUh3rDDDAZhYHAPX5EOJenbY9qBfLr-yHJUaNKMIQkiQwJ1ipAhoRiMX6_Do0CSX0WA_s2cWbbgZ2Y/s1600/BF0C70F2-1C0F-41A8-B05F-DDCB3C2A2FB9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtli2eimU5oCo4Nh7qOo0Z7Lk0U9BX2DZAq2sMjn4JUKFzPNAglSuj0xmLa-QHBTUh3rDDDAZhYHAPX5EOJenbY9qBfLr-yHJUaNKMIQkiQwJ1ipAhoRiMX6_Do0CSX0WA_s2cWbbgZ2Y/s640/BF0C70F2-1C0F-41A8-B05F-DDCB3C2A2FB9-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWi91mTthAZ4wisF3PVVC7FZOeAp3UD001LJaPDs1PxqykKwJxMk2eJ45VLsnQ5pxze2xGD1fclfziCzWFVWsEyYHw_lt04RHfX7PIPaMr7V_48WZ1GxP-3wSWkdT8_TuaotdNK1HnQ0/s1600/IMG_5839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWi91mTthAZ4wisF3PVVC7FZOeAp3UD001LJaPDs1PxqykKwJxMk2eJ45VLsnQ5pxze2xGD1fclfziCzWFVWsEyYHw_lt04RHfX7PIPaMr7V_48WZ1GxP-3wSWkdT8_TuaotdNK1HnQ0/s1600/IMG_5839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWi91mTthAZ4wisF3PVVC7FZOeAp3UD001LJaPDs1PxqykKwJxMk2eJ45VLsnQ5pxze2xGD1fclfziCzWFVWsEyYHw_lt04RHfX7PIPaMr7V_48WZ1GxP-3wSWkdT8_TuaotdNK1HnQ0/s400/IMG_5839.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ingrid Ball and I started Boot Camp again this week at the park. It is on Tuesday and Friday morning for four weeks. Everyone is young mothers except for us, but we are holding our own. On our walk back home the other morning my foot kicked something on the sidewalk. I looked down and saw a metal object. I picked it up to see what it was, and of all things it could have been, it was a kids <span style="color: red;">CTR</span> ring! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Guillermo Alvarez from our ward and Spanish Group has taken an interest in helping James with his family history. He loves being a family history detective especially in Spanish records. He has spent hours looking thru baptismal and marriage records on line and has found a few of James's ancestors. He found Victor Porras's (great-great grandfather) baptismal record which has his parents names on it. That was exciting! We took him and his wife, Miriam, out for dinner. Miriam is from Guatemala. They have twin daughters and seven grandchildren. The one daughter's family lives in Texas and the other daughter's family is in Japan with the Navy. We are so lucky to have most of out family nearby! He showed us this five generation family group sheet he made on leather bought from the area of Mexico where he is from. It is about 4 ft X 6 ft. Pretty impressive!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJu3gmYAb5UFtQGh3K_7RUFesvjUacRvkMXHuvHxtf8s12hw0INYEcuOQjK4RV7I1YSJD3XjRAVAXRrkh5EtgeXEWT5P1_Co0l5ZBS9-yOWoLQueIQm1mszMgrPg2hlrUU8BKtXBwz_0/s1600/950D2A96-B6B8-49D5-9553-73A8D18E98FD-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJu3gmYAb5UFtQGh3K_7RUFesvjUacRvkMXHuvHxtf8s12hw0INYEcuOQjK4RV7I1YSJD3XjRAVAXRrkh5EtgeXEWT5P1_Co0l5ZBS9-yOWoLQueIQm1mszMgrPg2hlrUU8BKtXBwz_0/s640/950D2A96-B6B8-49D5-9553-73A8D18E98FD-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Saturday morning we attended Bakersfield Stake 4th Annual Pioneer Picnic at Pyles Boy's Camp next to Lake Ming. Thankfully, it was an unusually cooler day (75 degrees). They had all kinds of fun pioneer activities like; rope making, hatchet throwing, leg wrestling, stick pulling, marbles, stilt walking, and gunny sack races. There was a continuous program on the stage; pioneer ancestor stories, singing, skits, dancing, and cello playing (Jayline). We even went on the stage with a few other missionaries that were there and some young people soon to leave on their missions to sing "Called to Serve". There was also had lots of good food; scones, watermelon, beef (wrapped in foil and burlap bags in the ground on top of smoldering ashes and covered in dirt for about 15 hours), baked potatoes, and pies. We took Sister Hall and a couple of her six children home after. Someone else took the rest of the kids. Their "home" was a room in a rundown motel in a rough part of town. It made you want to cry and certainly count your own blessings.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePFPh3nK0J31PpfHl_Zf7lM9aRDUhPvTuLnZuuGruZEecMQgbDeZD45T4_TMlFemCvH24VXl_5IaMBcS5E6OgFInZGs7MpLFuosvhbc2egG4ZBjNXejMYlHJHVswhF8huHauXXawGva4/s1600/607744F4-660F-4C5E-9D5A-2AA877D048A1-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePFPh3nK0J31PpfHl_Zf7lM9aRDUhPvTuLnZuuGruZEecMQgbDeZD45T4_TMlFemCvH24VXl_5IaMBcS5E6OgFInZGs7MpLFuosvhbc2egG4ZBjNXejMYlHJHVswhF8huHauXXawGva4/s640/607744F4-660F-4C5E-9D5A-2AA877D048A1-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Later in the afternoon we attended the baptism for 17 year old Max Walden. His twin brother, Matthew, was there to support him. He is also taking lessons from the missionaries. After Max was baptized, he talked for a few minutes saying how he has been blessed since he first walked in the church and felt the spirit there. Max and his brother live with their grandmother who is blind and has many health problems and their two little cousins who they take care of. He said it was one of his little cousin's birthday and they didn't have any extra money to celebrate, but somehow they were blessed with some money to have a little party for him. They were so happy.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-89948960906083466032017-06-04T16:55:00.001-07:002017-06-05T06:11:14.072-07:00Week of May 29 - June 4 (Memorial Day)<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We have passed by this house many times because it is across the street from Sound Waves where we have the Tiwi's installed in the new mission cars. We always noticed the memorial they had and wondered what it was all about, so on Monday we stopped to take a picture of it. It is quite an impressive, permanent memorial to the armed forces.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_AKZZBK8YYbAsrTCOwTuTx7gBfgkqhIi59CUpAQRLYg3Www-45GzyFPDtrMYPF962zRwNeU-q6ieoUpNuD29RE6H4IwS1eN1Wazv5b9XoHQzx9ce_h-404iJHTxKQC8zlFkC8AhOL5s/s1600/0CFC4FB7-A018-4919-BC92-5EAEDBB0CC95-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_AKZZBK8YYbAsrTCOwTuTx7gBfgkqhIi59CUpAQRLYg3Www-45GzyFPDtrMYPF962zRwNeU-q6ieoUpNuD29RE6H4IwS1eN1Wazv5b9XoHQzx9ce_h-404iJHTxKQC8zlFkC8AhOL5s/s640/0CFC4FB7-A018-4919-BC92-5EAEDBB0CC95-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a>Monday, Memorial Day, we welcomed 7 new missionaries to the Bakersfield California Mission. Five of those missionaries flew into the airport from the Provo MTC at noon and the other two came from the Mexico City MTC and did not arrive until about 3:30. We fed them lunch (Chinese sundaes, rolls & fruit-watermelon stars & blueberries and strawberries) and gave them their orientation.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHZVhpP7RrzB9G07E6YtW-FEKnliXqGImtU1tbm9eo0C5tyitRDH3erRvLz20Cdfs393ZMszEHoORfOgrrgMGqfi7mB6Fc_Y8R6ffbVX9cmm7eg51BSaH6zaklZDRyzwinvbrY-unHJM/s1600/0A31ADC6-C568-4A59-ABA6-03CAB3666DD0-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHZVhpP7RrzB9G07E6YtW-FEKnliXqGImtU1tbm9eo0C5tyitRDH3erRvLz20Cdfs393ZMszEHoORfOgrrgMGqfi7mB6Fc_Y8R6ffbVX9cmm7eg51BSaH6zaklZDRyzwinvbrY-unHJM/s640/0A31ADC6-C568-4A59-ABA6-03CAB3666DD0-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That evening, after the other two missionaries had arrived we had dinner at the Mission Home with all of them.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacUl9Y8-zJo8IvQVSu865Hr-MSrPPnSjJmGeVoJu8dbfyi26l5b1sVX89xnJY8sY8R9u-As_uN7oz-jjTVCAl4dqcib2E_SQ8RVahOVa4sPwMGqk2XVuMzPrFRJLWrvYjbtSJ4q5DZxY/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacUl9Y8-zJo8IvQVSu865Hr-MSrPPnSjJmGeVoJu8dbfyi26l5b1sVX89xnJY8sY8R9u-As_uN7oz-jjTVCAl4dqcib2E_SQ8RVahOVa4sPwMGqk2XVuMzPrFRJLWrvYjbtSJ4q5DZxY/s640/IMG_5751.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
President & Sister Layton, Elder Moon, Elder Pitcher, Elder Spunagle<br />
Hermana Ruiz, Sister Reed, Sister Pankratz, Sister Willyerd</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Monday later in the evening, we went to Family Home Evening at Hermana Medina's house. Monday was a big day! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtioYFWqQP340eR3LSHwFnVspqmcDJraqTlslecG1dmLoxHllBiFiuawv0v8gE6u3iTqkPMZkrv6_Rii6lpeba32grpFgxmIKNS3i8BjpdLmuFAghu1VN6q6veWcqHRHB9d0Yq0vUYAvE/s1600/IMG_1746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtioYFWqQP340eR3LSHwFnVspqmcDJraqTlslecG1dmLoxHllBiFiuawv0v8gE6u3iTqkPMZkrv6_Rii6lpeba32grpFgxmIKNS3i8BjpdLmuFAghu1VN6q6veWcqHRHB9d0Yq0vUYAvE/s640/IMG_1746.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next day we made lunch again for the new missionaries, their trainers, and the departing missionaries also. There were 32 of us. We had our standard baked potato bar, sweet potatoes, salad, and fruit. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCi2mo99mJ8nNCOnCHp9ZTNEUv6J6weWC53EWderWfDuVRod2XBfR1GN8HRwMnhoLJkhg5eFAl6eij7pzEOK2NrymLgmF-3xNyAJTtNammJO3wkXK7WunwuJ_nrVtdcqqkFSXwgniH4I/s1600/IMG_5753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCi2mo99mJ8nNCOnCHp9ZTNEUv6J6weWC53EWderWfDuVRod2XBfR1GN8HRwMnhoLJkhg5eFAl6eij7pzEOK2NrymLgmF-3xNyAJTtNammJO3wkXK7WunwuJ_nrVtdcqqkFSXwgniH4I/s640/IMG_5753.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That evening we had dinner again at the Mission Home with the 6 departing missionaries who leave early Wednesday morning. We had Chinese food in honor of Sister Kuang. Actually, Sister Kuang is from Taiwan. She gave us a lesson on how to use chopsticks and the proper way to eat the food. The lone elder going home is Elder Markwalter from Missouri City, Texas. His grandmother is not a member of the church and was very opposed to him going on a mission. She tried to talk him out of it by saying he was making a bad mistake and he should focus on his schooling. He invited her to church to hear him give his talk before he left. After the meeting, she told him, she now understood why he was going. Well, about a year later he sent the missionaries to visit her. On Saturday she will be baptized by her grandson, Elder Markwalter! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVWD2ycY82E9Yu2DCOyydeK_LPPjHBlLopW-7vaIb7nSz6jiXH91T2B5sD-274LF7Tyk8CVljZcvKIcSXjvSQNYp6Tqp17mSMlvR5h73TQ4aX8tXkSSh4YGLftT6DWBHlCsYbWjuTAGg/s1600/IMG_1756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVWD2ycY82E9Yu2DCOyydeK_LPPjHBlLopW-7vaIb7nSz6jiXH91T2B5sD-274LF7Tyk8CVljZcvKIcSXjvSQNYp6Tqp17mSMlvR5h73TQ4aX8tXkSSh4YGLftT6DWBHlCsYbWjuTAGg/s1600/IMG_1756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVWD2ycY82E9Yu2DCOyydeK_LPPjHBlLopW-7vaIb7nSz6jiXH91T2B5sD-274LF7Tyk8CVljZcvKIcSXjvSQNYp6Tqp17mSMlvR5h73TQ4aX8tXkSSh4YGLftT6DWBHlCsYbWjuTAGg/s320/IMG_1756.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5T9mPMESpldiufONWIv7J_D9hTlGFd001sP5UKVrxnS2kSrnR7R1DNLao3IP91DoR_K2hbzRSodP0F6Tj7B5UvZFeO4KjDkdmQ9j3XhOodgjpRmBh8kbTTp3TxhPLZJofg2RRySf5sc0/s1600/IMG_1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5T9mPMESpldiufONWIv7J_D9hTlGFd001sP5UKVrxnS2kSrnR7R1DNLao3IP91DoR_K2hbzRSodP0F6Tj7B5UvZFeO4KjDkdmQ9j3XhOodgjpRmBh8kbTTp3TxhPLZJofg2RRySf5sc0/s400/IMG_1755.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVWD2ycY82E9Yu2DCOyydeK_LPPjHBlLopW-7vaIb7nSz6jiXH91T2B5sD-274LF7Tyk8CVljZcvKIcSXjvSQNYp6Tqp17mSMlvR5h73TQ4aX8tXkSSh4YGLftT6DWBHlCsYbWjuTAGg/s1600/IMG_1756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVWD2ycY82E9Yu2DCOyydeK_LPPjHBlLopW-7vaIb7nSz6jiXH91T2B5sD-274LF7Tyk8CVljZcvKIcSXjvSQNYp6Tqp17mSMlvR5h73TQ4aX8tXkSSh4YGLftT6DWBHlCsYbWjuTAGg/s1600/IMG_1756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVWD2ycY82E9Yu2DCOyydeK_LPPjHBlLopW-7vaIb7nSz6jiXH91T2B5sD-274LF7Tyk8CVljZcvKIcSXjvSQNYp6Tqp17mSMlvR5h73TQ4aX8tXkSSh4YGLftT6DWBHlCsYbWjuTAGg/s1600/IMG_1756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5T9mPMESpldiufONWIv7J_D9hTlGFd001sP5UKVrxnS2kSrnR7R1DNLao3IP91DoR_K2hbzRSodP0F6Tj7B5UvZFeO4KjDkdmQ9j3XhOodgjpRmBh8kbTTp3TxhPLZJofg2RRySf5sc0/s1600/IMG_1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Wednesday evening we attended West High School graduation to see Gr<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdksSSsshHfXDl1OhlprsWV6qApxkkst-OPWdVa2HfY3RXsD-Bt4naE2vGPUViFDe2mxG3EDrncAsNgy01j4YljeBMxZTTlsZ2e7QYTMkg7Fp8E6vP6ab6WIPGnuoxejGA1_tTAz1MiB0/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>ace <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdksSSsshHfXDl1OhlprsWV6qApxkkst-OPWdVa2HfY3RXsD-Bt4naE2vGPUViFDe2mxG3EDrncAsNgy01j4YljeBMxZTTlsZ2e7QYTMkg7Fp8E6vP6ab6WIPGnuoxejGA1_tTAz1MiB0/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>and Jayline Martinez graduate. Grace is the valedictorian and Jayline is the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdksSSsshHfXDl1OhlprsWV6qApxkkst-OPWdVa2HfY3RXsD-Bt4naE2vGPUViFDe2mxG3EDrncAsNgy01j4YljeBMxZTTlsZ2e7QYTMkg7Fp8E6vP6ab6WIPGnuoxejGA1_tTAz1MiB0/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdksSSsshHfXDl1OhlprsWV6qApxkkst-OPWdVa2HfY3RXsD-Bt4naE2vGPUViFDe2mxG3EDrncAsNgy01j4YljeBMxZTTlsZ2e7QYTMkg7Fp8E6vP6ab6WIPGnuoxejGA1_tTAz1MiB0/s320/IMG_5769.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a>salutatorian in a class of 393 students with only three hundredths of a point separating them! Grace gave the "welcome". We sat by Philip and Karla Lewis, my Logan High classmate, who were also there to support the girls. Karla is their cello and violin teacher. Both of the girls received some more scholarships, so now they have enough grants and scholarships to cover their first year at BYU with some left over for the next year. Grace, Jayline, and their mother were on the early morning KGET news. It was a nice story about twins graduating at the top of their class, their love for education, and how they have inspired their mother to get an education also.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpbJEmIb_rSs36mQlaAGlBqNw8RbwQQmEn7UUXBRnLM20TWZu5UJzbd3yvE7OdjpUoA0BX34B6a0J__PwFhf0m_9icg7kjgQhv1ZWy7pJFynm83f-BrDOtv-QGF5TNBcRQKLTpASawaM/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpbJEmIb_rSs36mQlaAGlBqNw8RbwQQmEn7UUXBRnLM20TWZu5UJzbd3yvE7OdjpUoA0BX34B6a0J__PwFhf0m_9icg7kjgQhv1ZWy7pJFynm83f-BrDOtv-QGF5TNBcRQKLTpASawaM/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpbJEmIb_rSs36mQlaAGlBqNw8RbwQQmEn7UUXBRnLM20TWZu5UJzbd3yvE7OdjpUoA0BX34B6a0J__PwFhf0m_9icg7kjgQhv1ZWy7pJFynm83f-BrDOtv-QGF5TNBcRQKLTpASawaM/s200/IMG_5765.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpbJEmIb_rSs36mQlaAGlBqNw8RbwQQmEn7UUXBRnLM20TWZu5UJzbd3yvE7OdjpUoA0BX34B6a0J__PwFhf0m_9icg7kjgQhv1ZWy7pJFynm83f-BrDOtv-QGF5TNBcRQKLTpASawaM/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We met a very interesting, nice man who was sitting in front of us at the graduation. Mr. Grasso will be 100 years old in August! He was pretty spry getting right up several times so people in his row could get in and out. His mind was sharp as a tack and he loved to talk. He served in World War II. He started smoking at 14 and quit at 65 only because it was getting so expensive. He worked until he was 90 when his kids made him quit. He drove until he was 97 and his kids made him stop. He said that was okay because he knows his reflexes aren't quite what they used to be. He worked as a cement contractor all his life. He recently was asked and put up a flagpole at an elementary school near where he lives. He is pretty amazing and looks like he has quite a bit of life left in him!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5jl1LFmyCt5oNHpCMH6cELY0A88xGBYyIUrc1DnEwGcGsmy1cOgIg_CILMXuzI4AYKeanZh2zll0qJxw-25fRpa_5BIS8oQ3-FyZLQ_ueJRmvBIxTyFO880Kw6wm7iMgvNuTgBNkwME/s1600/IMG_5774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5jl1LFmyCt5oNHpCMH6cELY0A88xGBYyIUrc1DnEwGcGsmy1cOgIg_CILMXuzI4AYKeanZh2zll0qJxw-25fRpa_5BIS8oQ3-FyZLQ_ueJRmvBIxTyFO880Kw6wm7iMgvNuTgBNkwME/s320/IMG_5774.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Friday many of the elders who came into the office were sporting flower ties. I commented how pretty they were and I was reminded it was "floral Friday". I took a picture of Elder Kent and Elder Werrett when they came in to bring their monthly mileage report.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5jl1LFmyCt5oNHpCMH6cELY0A88xGBYyIUrc1DnEwGcGsmy1cOgIg_CILMXuzI4AYKeanZh2zll0qJxw-25fRpa_5BIS8oQ3-FyZLQ_ueJRmvBIxTyFO880Kw6wm7iMgvNuTgBNkwME/s1600/IMG_5774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
On our P-day Saturday morning, we got up early and left at 6:00 am for a day trip to Death Valley National Park. The park is about four and a half hours from Bakersfield. It is one of the hottest places on earth and holds the record for the highest recorded temperature in the world of 134 degrees on July 10, 1913. It has mountains that are about 5,000 feet high and also has the lowest point in North America at 282 feet <u>below</u> sea level at Badwater Basin. Only about eighty-four miles to the east/southeast is Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet. Death Valley National Park has sand dunes, salt flats, minerals, volcanic rocks, colorful mountains, etc. It was stifling hot! At Furnace Creek Visitor Center it was 113 degrees about noon. It got up to 118 degrees a few hours later. Wow! We drank a lot of water as was advised. In several places along the road we felt like we were on a roller coaster ride with all the dips. It was kind of fun. We really enjoyed seeing another part of this beautiful world that was created for us to live on.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbzszpP7S2fTIEnk2BamY3yw-rTPU9HvMrUxMPFSeErw9mFVffcfhqfgTu5Hq70SCwe0qnNDd4F3YHsKmsnBfl2wr_sz2dzhOpmfLj_0R-QBZP88D6WPHRRnpzryt6G60jFHoapil544/s1600/ED395BE1-6B55-49E4-AF40-248B703DA9AA-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbzszpP7S2fTIEnk2BamY3yw-rTPU9HvMrUxMPFSeErw9mFVffcfhqfgTu5Hq70SCwe0qnNDd4F3YHsKmsnBfl2wr_sz2dzhOpmfLj_0R-QBZP88D6WPHRRnpzryt6G60jFHoapil544/s640/ED395BE1-6B55-49E4-AF40-248B703DA9AA-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4Xvp2UxyfTkdi0BuGJdIXgP11y6BW67wlIs129gowfJND493fcMulQhGAtpaOm8jT6S-9soRsBXg3jaBNQFzd5QQ3L-1eQ9Jf8k7jaiXAgc2ntGHncGbq8PMh5RQT6OngumyF511jzE/s1600/IMG_5798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4Xvp2UxyfTkdi0BuGJdIXgP11y6BW67wlIs129gowfJND493fcMulQhGAtpaOm8jT6S-9soRsBXg3jaBNQFzd5QQ3L-1eQ9Jf8k7jaiXAgc2ntGHncGbq8PMh5RQT6OngumyF511jzE/s640/IMG_5798.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
High on the mountain straight ahead of us we could see a big sign "Sea Level". It was kind of weird to be so much below that. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmIyuc0MMKAzEwfuT_Ymrc7aAjkSQuZGxFMX196_q3bc10Fiox_dZfFYu4gsgzhy1haXBJ9sCK0u2HGxgD24CitfMpNWpfyAoFZbLpabcqrGSx1-iLu2Qa-TSP3dk3KdHgmscNnrZHcM/s1600/16C76E1F-D4B1-4DA8-8AD2-828DF2395527-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmIyuc0MMKAzEwfuT_Ymrc7aAjkSQuZGxFMX196_q3bc10Fiox_dZfFYu4gsgzhy1haXBJ9sCK0u2HGxgD24CitfMpNWpfyAoFZbLpabcqrGSx1-iLu2Qa-TSP3dk3KdHgmscNnrZHcM/s1600/16C76E1F-D4B1-4DA8-8AD2-828DF2395527-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmIyuc0MMKAzEwfuT_Ymrc7aAjkSQuZGxFMX196_q3bc10Fiox_dZfFYu4gsgzhy1haXBJ9sCK0u2HGxgD24CitfMpNWpfyAoFZbLpabcqrGSx1-iLu2Qa-TSP3dk3KdHgmscNnrZHcM/s640/16C76E1F-D4B1-4DA8-8AD2-828DF2395527-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmIyuc0MMKAzEwfuT_Ymrc7aAjkSQuZGxFMX196_q3bc10Fiox_dZfFYu4gsgzhy1haXBJ9sCK0u2HGxgD24CitfMpNWpfyAoFZbLpabcqrGSx1-iLu2Qa-TSP3dk3KdHgmscNnrZHcM/s1600/16C76E1F-D4B1-4DA8-8AD2-828DF2395527-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<br />
<div>
<span style="color: black;">President Carter, our stake president, was at our Spanish Group Sacrament today. After the meeting, he asked James if he could translate for him in temple recommend interviews. James said yes, and he did three of them. That was a good experience for him since it had probably been twenty five years or so since he had been a branch president and had the opportunity! President Carter thanked us for our service and wished us well in case he didn't see us again before we go home. </span></div>
</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbzszpP7S2fTIEnk2BamY3yw-rTPU9HvMrUxMPFSeErw9mFVffcfhqfgTu5Hq70SCwe0qnNDd4F3YHsKmsnBfl2wr_sz2dzhOpmfLj_0R-QBZP88D6WPHRRnpzryt6G60jFHoapil544/s1600/ED395BE1-6B55-49E4-AF40-248B703DA9AA-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpbJEmIb_rSs36mQlaAGlBqNw8RbwQQmEn7UUXBRnLM20TWZu5UJzbd3yvE7OdjpUoA0BX34B6a0J__PwFhf0m_9icg7kjgQhv1ZWy7pJFynm83f-BrDOtv-QGF5TNBcRQKLTpASawaM/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdksSSsshHfXDl1OhlprsWV6qApxkkst-OPWdVa2HfY3RXsD-Bt4naE2vGPUViFDe2mxG3EDrncAsNgy01j4YljeBMxZTTlsZ2e7QYTMkg7Fp8E6vP6ab6WIPGnuoxejGA1_tTAz1MiB0/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
</span><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtioYFWqQP340eR3LSHwFnVspqmcDJraqTlslecG1dmLoxHllBiFiuawv0v8gE6u3iTqkPMZkrv6_Rii6lpeba32grpFgxmIKNS3i8BjpdLmuFAghu1VN6q6veWcqHRHB9d0Yq0vUYAvE/s1600/IMG_1746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-24972178472727863112017-05-28T16:51:00.000-07:002017-05-28T19:37:33.342-07:00Week of May 22 - 28We ate dinner in the "wine cellar" at Frugati's with our Mormon senior dinner group. It was a lovely place to have dinner and we were not required to drink wine thankfully.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9I0NTwkLHXwQpqDUeaKIG-frXwd1L2J2QWutsp5HxRFGReOez2Wxgji9-EA0WM00WHcb9vv4Pq5g2E35dVeknIbrEtwb4DgTSXcQTq0jyDpQfTXeWA_GRPSePyWxa5DqsVlQhKi8XZZI/s1600/IMG_5687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9I0NTwkLHXwQpqDUeaKIG-frXwd1L2J2QWutsp5HxRFGReOez2Wxgji9-EA0WM00WHcb9vv4Pq5g2E35dVeknIbrEtwb4DgTSXcQTq0jyDpQfTXeWA_GRPSePyWxa5DqsVlQhKi8XZZI/s640/IMG_5687.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXg2ODIbLGDmGpRBtBlCvf_yXkDUUVBfebmHdgKD0NjKyZoYPZ1Ero1mMegIQRcX9t9s7fN-Fhh_X0oJgDlJ1BJFHTek8HYIVA_W6ezpgNnn8_I75Zjo6ffOqhWjjcHSeNVb7IdmpdnY/s1600/IMG_5695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXg2ODIbLGDmGpRBtBlCvf_yXkDUUVBfebmHdgKD0NjKyZoYPZ1Ero1mMegIQRcX9t9s7fN-Fhh_X0oJgDlJ1BJFHTek8HYIVA_W6ezpgNnn8_I75Zjo6ffOqhWjjcHSeNVb7IdmpdnY/s400/IMG_5695.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
James had to suspend driving privileges for two of our missionaries. When they get too many Tiwi violations like speeding or aggressive driving he gets an email from Salt Lake and has to<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXg2ODIbLGDmGpRBtBlCvf_yXkDUUVBfebmHdgKD0NjKyZoYPZ1Ero1mMegIQRcX9t9s7fN-Fhh_X0oJgDlJ1BJFHTek8HYIVA_W6ezpgNnn8_I75Zjo6ffOqhWjjcHSeNVb7IdmpdnY/s1600/IMG_5695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXg2ODIbLGDmGpRBtBlCvf_yXkDUUVBfebmHdgKD0NjKyZoYPZ1Ero1mMegIQRcX9t9s7fN-Fhh_X0oJgDlJ1BJFHTek8HYIVA_W6ezpgNnn8_I75Zjo6ffOqhWjjcHSeNVb7IdmpdnY/s1600/IMG_5695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> take action. Elder Steel took it well, but Sister Harmon hung up on James twice when he was informing her and trying to explain it to her. Sister Harmon only has one more week before her mission ends.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRPro2P-j6vwP3lA_kehJQVQinldDAMw9GVyIWJhywEF-PBTPHOi5O9AkplU-oQ_YclwDJGmEyTLy1D-re2Kc-COzpAuVM1I7tkm5CPyBnO9-H8au6z7ny7UCdy-4k-r_iEQiDUAjVro/s1600/IMG_5693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRPro2P-j6vwP3lA_kehJQVQinldDAMw9GVyIWJhywEF-PBTPHOi5O9AkplU-oQ_YclwDJGmEyTLy1D-re2Kc-COzpAuVM1I7tkm5CPyBnO9-H8au6z7ny7UCdy-4k-r_iEQiDUAjVro/s400/IMG_5693.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week I finally submitted our 2016 Mission History to the church. It was less than two months late; "better late than never"! I have been working on it for several months and then had to wait for other people to submit their contributions and give the okay. Then it was quite an ordeal getting it all in the proper electronic form to submit to Salt Lake. The Church History Department emailed back that it was received, processed, and submitted. Then we had a couple copies printed up at Office Depot. It is 140 pages.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw56z7kBw0xk0_Tv0CuOnZSt5kr7XjlmXVIXYhmjpNbZLELLbj3YNxT-aXzZrB8DSUUX_ggVyos0pcfJCqqy2MD9SILY6miTRWbB4-KHvriXgWFs_CciLXFskLUFCYkvg8ccargRzOFoo/s1600/IMG_5689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw56z7kBw0xk0_Tv0CuOnZSt5kr7XjlmXVIXYhmjpNbZLELLbj3YNxT-aXzZrB8DSUUX_ggVyos0pcfJCqqy2MD9SILY6miTRWbB4-KHvriXgWFs_CciLXFskLUFCYkvg8ccargRzOFoo/s400/IMG_5689.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Friday we had a staff potluck luncheon at the mission office after our staff meeting. Sister Layton shared the scripture, Jacob 6:3 "And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard..." She and President Layton told us all how much they appreciate what we do and they would not be able to do their jobs without us. It is nice to be appreciated! We talked about the plans for the new missionaries coming Monday and those leaving on Wednesday morning. We discussed the transition for the new senior missionary couples that will be arriving June 23rd and later in July. We talked about the rash of car accidents lately and discussed ideas to help the missionaries be more safe and responsible. President Layton said the Zone Conferences will have to be longer since there are no more Zone Training Meetings to give the Zone Leaders time to train their zones. Then we got talking about baptisms. I asked the question, "What is the average number of baptisms for our missionaries?" President Layton said it is about 2.2 baptisms per year per missionary. California is on the low end, as are most missions in the United States.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTdUjzZEVYc-sAv5gN215swmlLk2TUT3hbICkAlRdend96QA-vxXQuHErIf0NJsD0eutwz6zflf3H7Ek4NsDIzuzUu6rw3-PrPbGtgxL3vM-hCOXPn2t9_Fky_Qo5BPTHylsaqb9pHk0/s1600/245408BF-4BAF-4DF7-9203-BFED6A5107D0-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTdUjzZEVYc-sAv5gN215swmlLk2TUT3hbICkAlRdend96QA-vxXQuHErIf0NJsD0eutwz6zflf3H7Ek4NsDIzuzUu6rw3-PrPbGtgxL3vM-hCOXPn2t9_Fky_Qo5BPTHylsaqb9pHk0/s640/245408BF-4BAF-4DF7-9203-BFED6A5107D0-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Saturday morning, we drove to Arvin (about 30 minutes south) to the Bakersfield National Cemetery. Along the way we passed field after field of grapes, fruit and nut trees, onions, and other produce. Bakersfield National Cemetery opened in 2009 and is nestled in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains. It is a very peaceful and tranquil setting. Service men and women were directing where to park and they directed our car right to the front of a row instead of all the way back where we thought we were going to have to park. We figured it must have been due to our "Disabled Veteran" license plates. We arrived just in time for the very moving and patriotic Memorial Day program. We sang the National Anthem, said the Pledge of Allegiance, listened to a couple of speakers, enjoyed Taps and a rifle salute. The program ended with a helicopter that served in Viet Nam flying in and circling above us, stopping, and bowing its nose. James said he remembers that sound of the helicopters when he served in Viet Nam. It was a welcome sound when the helicopters were bringing the mail, supplies, or new servicemen. It was not such a welcome sound when a helicopter flew in to pick up the wounded or the dead bodies. After the program, we were handed an armful of flags and got to help place an American flag at each of the headstones. We walked among the headstones reading some of the names and inscriptions. We noticed a woman standing by a headstone for a long time who was crying. We found out it was her sister's headstone who had died in Iraq a few years ago. We talked to another woman whose husband is buried there and she will be buried beside him. She pointed out to us that the spouse's name and info is engraved on the back of the headstones. She also told us about the significance of the coins left on some of the headstones. This practice dates back to the Roman Empire, but became popular in the United States during the Vietnam War. A visitor might leave a penny if they knew them, a nickel if they were in boot camp together, a dime if they served in the same platoon, and a quarter if they were close friends who served together or were together when the deceased died. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6Ulug1wPJP2S3dPlx2YrO2R0pPuEG-2FCPAXlCJQiaJRYdwGABsynHLs5J6V2xB_DTHjBxYSBnFtOBfn1SgKQ4CevGqWMlp3YKZXuytUZcbOnOMbTFit94BqtOXCA0TcfQpliTQb0eg/s1600/B1F1F9FF-7ECE-4C05-A99D-12CE54FE629F-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6Ulug1wPJP2S3dPlx2YrO2R0pPuEG-2FCPAXlCJQiaJRYdwGABsynHLs5J6V2xB_DTHjBxYSBnFtOBfn1SgKQ4CevGqWMlp3YKZXuytUZcbOnOMbTFit94BqtOXCA0TcfQpliTQb0eg/s640/B1F1F9FF-7ECE-4C05-A99D-12CE54FE629F-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We left the cemetery and drove to Tulare, which is about 65 minutes to the north of Bakersfield. We met my friend and her husband, Helaine and Henry Lopez, at Apple Annie's for lunch. We have been friends for 60 years! She and her parents moved to Logan and she walked into my 1st grade class on March 17, 1957. They only lived in Logan for a couple years before they moved to California, but we have stayed friends all these years. They live in Fresno, but will soon be moving to Modesto to be near her only daughter and first grandchild. Before we parted ways, I gave Helaine a Book of Mormon with my testimony written in the front and some scriptures underlined. She thanked me. That afternoon she thanked me again for the Book of Mormon when she sent me a text about how she enjoyed our time together. (Apple Annie has quite the toothy smile and red lipstick!)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0AbJa9nTHpfxVwPQXBonc8lTcmXrB6QLBVlUQ4vJgWgU8hjQeQeirZVtGo7MrReIyGxPshhSXSyOEO-82-9bbHv9XpGUR9BUvF189xILej0Zq7x_Drm3T7zVXAgGkWGA08qmobcyT0Lc/s1600/IMG_5730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0AbJa9nTHpfxVwPQXBonc8lTcmXrB6QLBVlUQ4vJgWgU8hjQeQeirZVtGo7MrReIyGxPshhSXSyOEO-82-9bbHv9XpGUR9BUvF189xILej0Zq7x_Drm3T7zVXAgGkWGA08qmobcyT0Lc/s400/IMG_5730.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCQcVkv8O4P90dqkXXJq22i8aRt3QWGtEvKQWNzBQp27ObvdUXD2bTJGwt5di9xLrf_IXed2Zx0LTMYR53vXK4ManWsc2CrwKm9KTcqMqhuVL4nTkUztPWeCx11FyZ5nzemOegQYSk7A/s1600/IMG_5734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCQcVkv8O4P90dqkXXJq22i8aRt3QWGtEvKQWNzBQp27ObvdUXD2bTJGwt5di9xLrf_IXed2Zx0LTMYR53vXK4ManWsc2CrwKm9KTcqMqhuVL4nTkUztPWeCx11FyZ5nzemOegQYSk7A/s400/IMG_5734.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After church we took pictures with Elder Cruz and Elder Labrum who will be transferred out of our ward on Tuesday. We will miss them!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOkU-F-21GiwpgcyfxRl_SsD6CzY7na7lAhPy8D40rLK-CK6WR7GBcCfmc5_-_-OBfZ2uZHmb4HbhNEEJM14DehRuS0C7szpFG-TAV04lvTG0Ely1HyAis-cegylfCoWZzLrsHDp-nFs/s1600/A6999382-310A-45CC-A117-E032F4B8D628-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOkU-F-21GiwpgcyfxRl_SsD6CzY7na7lAhPy8D40rLK-CK6WR7GBcCfmc5_-_-OBfZ2uZHmb4HbhNEEJM14DehRuS0C7szpFG-TAV04lvTG0Ely1HyAis-cegylfCoWZzLrsHDp-nFs/s400/A6999382-310A-45CC-A117-E032F4B8D628-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top: Elder Cruz, Elder & Sister Porras<br />
Bottom: Melva Arce, Sister & Elder Porras, Elder Labrum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-79442947617688886312017-05-21T21:02:00.003-07:002017-05-22T06:59:05.713-07:00Week of May 15 - 21<div style="text-align: justify;">
We had a short lesson about "Faith" at Family Home Evening tonight. Sister Hall, a single mother of six cute kids, said she has to have faith everyday to be able to take care of her family and raise her kids. Sister Medina shared that she has a strong faith that Heavenly Father will be with her when she needs His help and then she acts and goes forward. She had an example of just that last week when she took her hard earned money she saved all year and went to the flower markets to buy flowers armed with the faith that her good intentions, purpose, and hard work would pay off and bring results. It did. They were able to make the money to feed her daughters next year in college. Then we played "Mafia" for an activity. We had cookies and mandarins for a treat thanks to Elder & Sister Porras.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5U3O9pTlyK4Fe-ICUxBly014Zlt3nXPcFTSHoRS_tDFWDWDveLkpdeS4RKtTl5tVJUz99Bt93PMWz9O7wzbfq8PMZVqMY1-MjEjiTyb16AaZ8LVb_TrhXA1OerkXDJPtQpQl6NI7Xho/s1600/IMG_5662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5U3O9pTlyK4Fe-ICUxBly014Zlt3nXPcFTSHoRS_tDFWDWDveLkpdeS4RKtTl5tVJUz99Bt93PMWz9O7wzbfq8PMZVqMY1-MjEjiTyb16AaZ8LVb_TrhXA1OerkXDJPtQpQl6NI7Xho/s640/IMG_5662.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday morning we got up super early, drove to LA airport, and flew to Denver. Our flight was delayed more than four hours and we would have been late for graduation, so we bought tickets on another airline that got us to Denver earlier. We took a "leave of absence" from our mission for four days to attend our granddaughter's, Jackie, high school graduation. We were also going to attend another granddaughter's, Chloe, graduation, but as it turned out she was not even there. Chloe was already in the Dominican Republic with ILP (International Language Program) for the summer. Delane picked us up at the airport. We were surprised as we were walking out of the airport by Ruby, our four year old granddaughter, coming up behind us and taping James on the leg. We thought they would be at the arrival pickup area in their car. That was fun! Then we went to the school to pick up Delane's two boys. She hadn't told them we were coming, so it was a big surprise to them when they opened the car doors and saw us! You should have seen their shocked faces! It was kind of weird, but very exciting to walk back in our own house after ten and a half months of being away.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was so nice to be at Jackie's graduation and see her family. The graduation was moved up two hours because of the bad weather coming in. It did rain during part of the graduation ceremony and was cold and windy. We enjoyed dinner at Mt. Fuji with Troy's family after the graduation.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlgrDJJ3BzytcYXNIugCzEYFPYVoRuDfsgHGpUx7r42UwJKMKvBBAR97jtpkyYC59655sY-baj3EH2ivAJha4YuG_PIf07bGLvmUAdIi0TIxicfRvXxo89OLrjjFzWTQXlYtS4HoQ-4g/s1600/F5051939-E8FD-4BB0-BACD-609ACD51FFA9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlgrDJJ3BzytcYXNIugCzEYFPYVoRuDfsgHGpUx7r42UwJKMKvBBAR97jtpkyYC59655sY-baj3EH2ivAJha4YuG_PIf07bGLvmUAdIi0TIxicfRvXxo89OLrjjFzWTQXlYtS4HoQ-4g/s640/F5051939-E8FD-4BB0-BACD-609ACD51FFA9-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxw4uXZAZ5nHMYI8LSjwfW_3B3qul-GoMVM6hNHE3wGvq-9U4cyBHvJziF-Kv6BKDcx6Ip_Vf_ZMz4PNvL7WqO2IHuK0S2aZ5gFJvMFcXMGLgzV2IfQFiC38OWV0kT7RlXzbIhH01mqw/s1600/IMG_5665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxw4uXZAZ5nHMYI8LSjwfW_3B3qul-GoMVM6hNHE3wGvq-9U4cyBHvJziF-Kv6BKDcx6Ip_Vf_ZMz4PNvL7WqO2IHuK0S2aZ5gFJvMFcXMGLgzV2IfQFiC38OWV0kT7RlXzbIhH01mqw/s320/IMG_5665.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thursday morning we woke up to snow! It snowed all day and into Friday. We probably got about six inches of heavy wet snow and the temperature was only in the 30's. However, it was kind of fun to find my boots and have a chance to wear them. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAW_qrJI1B-gcSpG_LRe-ESa921ymhetfxVp51Enz5WGoG9lcunSg7QXKEtLk4PVv5Eo0TvAjqJiK-iLKhyphenhyphen1K-bofEpSxddi_flEFV0MRxhl42opjtrAQKkljyAqnqsx3CbylQ46zPek/s1600/IMG_5666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAW_qrJI1B-gcSpG_LRe-ESa921ymhetfxVp51Enz5WGoG9lcunSg7QXKEtLk4PVv5Eo0TvAjqJiK-iLKhyphenhyphen1K-bofEpSxddi_flEFV0MRxhl42opjtrAQKkljyAqnqsx3CbylQ46zPek/s320/IMG_5666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Savy (in pink) with her project mates and their project.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPi_-mHRJngkbDWofNyxaxee6_J5t6Y2IPvbK-MC0uCZMpJKwZSBflQHPYpbOiGwqHZdLsth0ON4MIt6UvgvIb_ewL0kKOTxNmrq8dC5Rft-UeWPzyvORGJ8vzMZ1SDMekOX5G9sBNd4o/s1600/095992EC-576B-4558-B28B-5EB6A3D972AC-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPi_-mHRJngkbDWofNyxaxee6_J5t6Y2IPvbK-MC0uCZMpJKwZSBflQHPYpbOiGwqHZdLsth0ON4MIt6UvgvIb_ewL0kKOTxNmrq8dC5Rft-UeWPzyvORGJ8vzMZ1SDMekOX5G9sBNd4o/s400/095992EC-576B-4558-B28B-5EB6A3D972AC-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a>We were able to attend Savy's science fair, spend time with Melissa, go bowling with Tony's family, shop with Nadezda and Amelia, play UNO with Greta, watch a movie with Troy's family, watch videos Ivaras made, go mudding in Austin's jeep, and just spend quality time with most of our kids and grandkids. (Sierra was in Logan, Chloe was in Dominican Republic, Mark, Robert, and Martin live in Prague, and Janel was in London, Gaby was there thru Wednesday and flew back to Hawaii Thursday morning.) James enjoyed seeing how the restoration of his '68 Corvette is coming along. I enjoyed pulling a few weeds. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Saturday morning we had a family breakfast for everyone at our house. We sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" before Cesar blessed the food. We loved every minute of being with our family and catching up on all their comings and goings and news! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDgqEoXt4dBBdcgH3HxgzgIZbdkM05hXMewMTDAAJk5B1FFp-qFcEquj9hSY67JeGOWbhI954yDklNb1VUbhpL-ax9IIzgz4oV6USrAO4y0XnOFYzzXyi76NLUsV17UOYrgzR7dHe3qQ/s1600/9B65D126-0B10-4E5E-B6AF-84A0F40F1F9D-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDgqEoXt4dBBdcgH3HxgzgIZbdkM05hXMewMTDAAJk5B1FFp-qFcEquj9hSY67JeGOWbhI954yDklNb1VUbhpL-ax9IIzgz4oV6USrAO4y0XnOFYzzXyi76NLUsV17UOYrgzR7dHe3qQ/s400/9B65D126-0B10-4E5E-B6AF-84A0F40F1F9D-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Troy took us to the airport early Sunday morning for our return flight back to Bakersfield to finish the last six weeks of our mission. There was the longest check in line that anyone had ever seen. It snaked back and forth in front of the counters like usual then went to the end of the building, turned the corner past the bathrooms, turned the next corner, and went halfway down that hall. We were in line for about 1 1/2 hours. The flight was delayed about 40 minutes so all was well. Anyway, it gave us time to visit with our neighbors in line. There was a sweet girl going to Orlando for work for the week. She just got married five months ago. There was another very nice young couple going to Cancun for a vacation. They are Mexicans who live in Denver. They speak both Spanish and English, but James mostly spoke Spanish to them. We talked about family. Her mother came from Mexico to stay with their two small children. They showed us a picture of their kids and we got to show them a picture of our family. We gave both the couple and the working girl pass along cards.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-49675177766772498282017-05-14T19:33:00.000-07:002017-06-01T13:07:46.796-07:00Week of May 8 - 14 (Mother's Day)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWYcC_ivlaFdTNKIR0emLJhaw2SF6f-XdLR8f9Zrk5HEEeX5d75fOGJd9XFTsEL0Ytlsvvg5xCRpn2KHhCv01FxFuEPivNa_oTjL_9q9iMtssB1q__z1ifPMzo45ySY6gI3iSO3h-nZI/s1600/59666380-1D88-42D8-9F4B-9B3ED0E739E5-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWYcC_ivlaFdTNKIR0emLJhaw2SF6f-XdLR8f9Zrk5HEEeX5d75fOGJd9XFTsEL0Ytlsvvg5xCRpn2KHhCv01FxFuEPivNa_oTjL_9q9iMtssB1q__z1ifPMzo45ySY6gI3iSO3h-nZI/s320/59666380-1D88-42D8-9F4B-9B3ED0E739E5-COLLAGE.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWYcC_ivlaFdTNKIR0emLJhaw2SF6f-XdLR8f9Zrk5HEEeX5d75fOGJd9XFTsEL0Ytlsvvg5xCRpn2KHhCv01FxFuEPivNa_oTjL_9q9iMtssB1q__z1ifPMzo45ySY6gI3iSO3h-nZI/s1600/59666380-1D88-42D8-9F4B-9B3ED0E739E5-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
We had another fun Family Home Evening at church with the missionaries, some members, and some investigators. We took turns reading from the Book of Mormon. I read my scripture in Spanish, believe it or not. Everyone clapped for me even though I know it wasn't very good. For the activity we played "Minute to Win It". We had to put an Oreo on our forehead and try to get it in our mouths without using our hands. It was hard! A couple people were pretty good at it. We all laughed a lot.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I had an experience that showed me <b><span style="color: red;">the Lord is in our lives and aware of what we are doing</span></b> and what is going on. A couple of missionaries came into the office inquiring if we had a Korean Book of Mormon. I looked in the cabinet where we have some Book of Mormons in other languages besides English and Spanish. There was not a Korean one, so I ordered a couple. I noticed what a mess that cabinet was and decided to organize it and label the Book of Mormons with what language they are. I also found a bunch of pamphlets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxZjzKll6VCYAbuFJHcEm5_d8dqzJ00c7oeSuUHUlxbeSxEsH9pnDkC9NET4u0y4auge8PR5S1br8u13vRHcLo0Cr5dkJ_0NF0bMbtGDVLizf1_Ot4GPMq3KukXNhH0bM4qlqFygfaQs/s1600/IMG_5628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxZjzKll6VCYAbuFJHcEm5_d8dqzJ00c7oeSuUHUlxbeSxEsH9pnDkC9NET4u0y4auge8PR5S1br8u13vRHcLo0Cr5dkJ_0NF0bMbtGDVLizf1_Ot4GPMq3KukXNhH0bM4qlqFygfaQs/s320/IMG_5628.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a> in other languages. Just as I was about to finish the project and close the cabinet, some other elders came in to check on a name badge. Elder Chamberlain saw what I was doing and got so excited to see the Hindi Book of Mormons. He said there are quite a few Hindi people in Wasco where they are serving. They had just talked to one the day before. So they took three Hindi Book of Mormons and a stack of Hindi pamphlets. Pretty cool how that all worked out!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhct3SMoxQtB6XghY7D20qgRX13P5rxdqb2-xcVLfx9PHbOaCh_gGOHqDIoFfwJknWl5R_LgYI_sCrgGR_OHxaT8NP_L8e-n-JHzbzfS6TIexE8K7PhevBc4KjVLLS3CuMAWpmSisu9KIY/s1600/IMG_5629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhct3SMoxQtB6XghY7D20qgRX13P5rxdqb2-xcVLfx9PHbOaCh_gGOHqDIoFfwJknWl5R_LgYI_sCrgGR_OHxaT8NP_L8e-n-JHzbzfS6TIexE8K7PhevBc4KjVLLS3CuMAWpmSisu9KIY/s200/IMG_5629.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
FYI we have the following languages of Book of Mormons on hand: Abdiel, Arabic, Armenian, Afrikaans, Cambodian, Chinese, French, German, Hiligaynon, Hindi, Indonesian, Igbo, Marshallese, Maya, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Russian, Samoan, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Tongan, Ukrainian, Yoruba, and Vietnamese. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
James had a <span style="color: red;"><b>"tender mercy"</b></span><span style="color: black;">.</span> His lawyer friend, Richard Olona, called to tell him he was about to be sued. It just so happened that Richard works for a big asphalt company as their lawyer. He was asked to sue Pak-One, LLC for an unpaid bill. So he called to tell James he was about to file a lawsuit against our company. After researching the situation, James found out it was for some asphalt work done at two of his Wendy's parking lots after he sold the business. David See, the new owner, said they had paid it. However, that company subcontracted it to another company and never passed on the payment to them. Thankfully, it got sorted out. What are the odds the lawyer who was going to sue was Richard. The Lord does know what is going on in our lives and blesses us. <br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: large;">Speaking of </span><b><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-size: large;">blessings</span></b><span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: large;">, we were promised in our setting apart blessings from President Lyman that </span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-size: large;"><b>our family would be blessed</b></span><span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: large;"> because of our sacrifice and service of serving a mission. We were wondering if you, our family, have seen blessings in your lives or the lives of your families this past year that could be attributed to our promise. Please let us know.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsxZjzKll6VCYAbuFJHcEm5_d8dqzJ00c7oeSuUHUlxbeSxEsH9pnDkC9NET4u0y4auge8PR5S1br8u13vRHcLo0Cr5dkJ_0NF0bMbtGDVLizf1_Ot4GPMq3KukXNhH0bM4qlqFygfaQs/s1600/IMG_5628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Friday morning we drove to Los Angeles. You never know how long it will take because the traffic is always bad, but sometimes it is <u>really</u> bad. It is always amazing for us to see the sea of cars and be slowed to nearly a standstill. There are old cars, new cars, semi's, trucks, small cars, big cars, expensive cars, and junkers, but we are all in the same boat. However, it is legal for motorcycles to drive between the lanes of traffic. Sometimes they nearly scare the socks off you as they come roaring out of nowhere and go whizzing by so closely.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlL3AM0QfA60Ott3DyEsk4AogrwYQoxYMPOujQY-tYT5Pku2Q179FBsHy1J4d3iilRWG18n0xh5UgFMLfL5IJcxV08Zeq5F56lOF8qHqMIi-8a9x0i4iDtHeF7Y6DY-v-QQ3ylGmBcYKA/s1600/AA977D9E-E382-486D-8022-2CDE88C903A3-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlL3AM0QfA60Ott3DyEsk4AogrwYQoxYMPOujQY-tYT5Pku2Q179FBsHy1J4d3iilRWG18n0xh5UgFMLfL5IJcxV08Zeq5F56lOF8qHqMIi-8a9x0i4iDtHeF7Y6DY-v-QQ3ylGmBcYKA/s640/AA977D9E-E382-486D-8022-2CDE88C903A3-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We attended the Los Angeles Temple with six missionaries who will be departing in a couple of weeks. Sister Harmon was suppose to come with the group also, but she was sick and stayed in Bakersfield. In our chapel session a counselor in the temple presidency spoke to us. He said that on most tombstones the birth date and death date are separated by a dash. That dash represents our life on earth. Even though that dash is just a flash in the eternities, how we live our lives here is very important and will determine our destiny. He said the Lord has prepared many mansions in heaven. (John 14:2, D&C 76:111, Ether 12:32) We are preparing where our own mansion will be by the service and sacrifice we do on this earth and by the covenants and ordinances we make and keep.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici4URs40BAurY3jP7HV1ir6SvNrAp6I6facqjdF60UEI8g48M0clRiU3dtQeKq7-OaxrfKhndbXAoEjJcoTnq54LLTQo57YA9S-d0GmfeqVsh8gA2oOj7W-AWIRJ4vjlFK5xcoo8Y4kE/s1600/IMG_5634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici4URs40BAurY3jP7HV1ir6SvNrAp6I6facqjdF60UEI8g48M0clRiU3dtQeKq7-OaxrfKhndbXAoEjJcoTnq54LLTQo57YA9S-d0GmfeqVsh8gA2oOj7W-AWIRJ4vjlFK5xcoo8Y4kE/s640/IMG_5634.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
Elder Markwalter, Elder Larsen, President & Sister Layton, Sister Kuang, Sister Pincock, Sister Martineau, Sister Badger</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilX2WKjtQZZ8M9G_h-a2-wG2Rqjs1kKU4p496GA_7c5wilkNGzlORFwMn1PA_XcR8kml0iqnVcMZwLL6cXoBP46i7YaMIl6ZDi9vIBx-0z_MNMsPFaBpEcO20mvvuN5xjhMpX5A06vcdc/s1600/IMG_5657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilX2WKjtQZZ8M9G_h-a2-wG2Rqjs1kKU4p496GA_7c5wilkNGzlORFwMn1PA_XcR8kml0iqnVcMZwLL6cXoBP46i7YaMIl6ZDi9vIBx-0z_MNMsPFaBpEcO20mvvuN5xjhMpX5A06vcdc/s320/IMG_5657.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sister Medina had her annual Mother's Day flower sale this weekend. It is a family affair with her daughters and son helping. They also sell flowers on Valentines Day. They live on a corner lot and she puts her little white trailer out front where she sells from. On Sunday her son, Danny, and his cousin set up another stand on a busy corner a few blocks away. Danny said he was a little scared when two police cars showed up and the policemen searched them for weapons. The police said they couldn't be there. So Danny called his mom and she came over with the permit. All was well and they didn't end up in jail thank heavens. Each year they have a purpose in mind for their flower sale. One year they bought a car. Another year they made the money to send Grace to Stanford for a summer program. This year they want to make enough money to cover the food costs that Grace and Jayline will need at BYU next year. We went to help support them and bought five flower arrangements. We dropped them off at Melva's, Isabel's, Ingrid's, Martha's, and brought one home for me.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGse5vXvh0Dbn_IEbHP833h2gdOKbkwr1lBym3UidM8oME8T8JuR87oqLeKObxkHaACC9lIlrts5pAOQ_O-Oa1F6Psud5YTKGJMBNZ3wAp6CQjipTI6qyhugDDsVd6WgwaTZEs_CfZTDg/s1600/21E24992-96E8-404B-BD3F-14FD6D9119ED-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGse5vXvh0Dbn_IEbHP833h2gdOKbkwr1lBym3UidM8oME8T8JuR87oqLeKObxkHaACC9lIlrts5pAOQ_O-Oa1F6Psud5YTKGJMBNZ3wAp6CQjipTI6qyhugDDsVd6WgwaTZEs_CfZTDg/s640/21E24992-96E8-404B-BD3F-14FD6D9119ED-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday evening we attended the baptism for Lori Lampo. Ernie Lindle from her ward baptized her. <br />He is originally from Wellsville and we had a nice visit with him. Bishop Little welcomed Lori to <br />the ward with his testimony and advice to "look for ways to lift others. It will strengthen you and bless<br />their lives." Lori has been investigating the church for over a year and finally decided it was time for<br /> her to make the commitment. It was a wonderful baptism. <br />She wanted a picture with all the missionaries that </span><span style="font-size: small;">were there.<br />
</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGu08JNydkQQ4vFtZ2oGsuZJt_gbk1MN_OF4dQ6xOWuOxH08-E7RO_q_wa9I-v_spztxiydUw-ZTC58S4dwcpnF11GiVwmngK7Ngl__j7uTm_xN3AvJVYkRI3cxJIgqtYw5vH55xc2R0/s1600/IMG_5652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGu08JNydkQQ4vFtZ2oGsuZJt_gbk1MN_OF4dQ6xOWuOxH08-E7RO_q_wa9I-v_spztxiydUw-ZTC58S4dwcpnF11GiVwmngK7Ngl__j7uTm_xN3AvJVYkRI3cxJIgqtYw5vH55xc2R0/s640/IMG_5652.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister Layton, Elder & Sister Ball, Sister Kuang, Sister Hutchinson, Lori, Sister Hogge , Sister Boyer, Sister & Elder Porras, Elder Salvesson, and Elder Fry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Being a mother is one of my greatest blessings!</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> All I every wanted to do was be a mother. When I was young I didn't even think ahead to the added blessings that grandchildren would bring. Sunday James made me breakfast, ham and eggs, and he and Elder Ball cooked dinner for Ingrid and me. I broke my chain of 55 days without sweets or desserts by enjoying chocolate covered strawberries our Bishop made for the women in Relief Society. It is so nice to be pampered!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-32742727145563657842017-05-07T18:51:00.000-07:002017-05-07T18:51:07.145-07:00Week of May 1 - 7<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week in Bakersfield gave us a taste of the <span style="color: red;">hot</span> weather to come. We had a couple of 90+ days, Wednesday it was<span style="color: red;"> 101</span>, Thursday <span style="color: red;">103</span>, and then Saturday we got relief with 63, and lastly it was only 71 today with rain last night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Monday evening we went to Family Home Evening/Book of Mormon class at our church that the missionaries in our ward started. Only people from the Spanish Group showed up, so it was in Spanish. We took turns reading the first chapter of the Book of Mormon, Nephi 1, and discussing it. Even though Nephi 1 is the most read and reread book in the Book of Mormon, it is always good to read it again and see what insights you can gain. Then we played "Signs". It took us and some of the others awhile to catch on to the game, but we all laughed a lot and had a fun time together. It is going to be a weekly event.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoMWrHONJRQ09CWHjZMDnV1YSIkN1zVRkYRviA4Oe1ybzV83DxIFYzwbtihwo5W2cg3QmKz9GOnCCEk6BeFuoQu8opyntmIpOAuJ4cqATu5bidf484t1SaPY6e51n9AJmj46tMFfXn0M/s1600/IMG_1680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoMWrHONJRQ09CWHjZMDnV1YSIkN1zVRkYRviA4Oe1ybzV83DxIFYzwbtihwo5W2cg3QmKz9GOnCCEk6BeFuoQu8opyntmIpOAuJ4cqATu5bidf484t1SaPY6e51n9AJmj46tMFfXn0M/s640/IMG_1680.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Hulet, Elder Labrum, Elder Atkinson, Elder Cruz, Elder Hathcock, Elder Thomason</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tuesday we went to the Los Angeles Temple and took Melva Arce, who was baptized about six months ago. We left at 6:30am and picked up Melva's niece, Marian, in Altadena (next to Pasadena).</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrF46mXLCIavTjGv940M1Sg0x1XU8aI86ycMyijUl_mehznaz98JloXXjyxxGI02a-mUDIhRjnF4IjyYMKwpmkEYKdp6erGnyZ0jICJ-MLzopq7mSg6h-JIyrFkIJNulBPPhIclpA0GA/s1600/65136DAE-5DB9-4BD8-9A32-731C0D45ACCB-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrF46mXLCIavTjGv940M1Sg0x1XU8aI86ycMyijUl_mehznaz98JloXXjyxxGI02a-mUDIhRjnF4IjyYMKwpmkEYKdp6erGnyZ0jICJ-MLzopq7mSg6h-JIyrFkIJNulBPPhIclpA0GA/s400/65136DAE-5DB9-4BD8-9A32-731C0D45ACCB-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traffic getting to Los Angeles was a solid sea of cars as usual.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elder Jacobsen (he baptized Melva) and Elder Labrum along with Brother John Olsen, from our ward, met us at the temple visitor's center. Marian stayed there with all the sweet sister missionaries who took good care of her while the rest of us went into the temple baptistery. They showed her around the visitor center, introduced her to the church, gave her a Book of Mormon, and got her contact information. Melva was so excited and nervous! She took five family names to the temple. She was baptized for both of her grandmothers and Elder Jacobsen</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
was baptized for both of her grandfathers and her father. Elder Labrum did the baptizing, James and Brother Olsen were the witnesses and did the confirming after. It was an emotional and spiritual experience for all of us, but especially for Melva. She said she was thinking about her grandmas and when she came up out of the water she could feel them with her. Her heart was beating so fast, and yet she said she felt such peace and comfort. She said the temple was so peaceful! We took pictures by the temple and took Melva and Marian just inside the beautiful, huge temple doors to see inside and feel the spirit. A group of departing missionaries from the Los Angeles Mission came in just then and Elder Labrum was blown away when he saw someone he knew. They stepped outside for a minute to take pictures. She was a high school friend and is a friend of his girlfriend. We said our goodbyes to Brother Olsen and the missionaries. Then we drove to Alhambra, another Los Angeles suburb, where we had lunch at the Diner on Main. Marian and Melva got to visit some more. Marian used to live there and had some business to take care of, so that is where we left her. It was a very nice day for all of us.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVxUAF1kAzkmQCD-3zUUiZ7cz0_6WhMQAkQX92gebqvaQNt3EmdUMChjOvjysURk07zbfuqXClWCFrgpLyzX4R6zOq4981DMwkuQzLUBsC3-UQBBSpVPJIvvjflTeKyOWNoEiKCzMIv8/s1600/DD17F4D4-0487-4AE8-AE5C-F884590E31EF-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVxUAF1kAzkmQCD-3zUUiZ7cz0_6WhMQAkQX92gebqvaQNt3EmdUMChjOvjysURk07zbfuqXClWCFrgpLyzX4R6zOq4981DMwkuQzLUBsC3-UQBBSpVPJIvvjflTeKyOWNoEiKCzMIv8/s640/DD17F4D4-0487-4AE8-AE5C-F884590E31EF-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Jacobsen (Preston, ID), Elder Labrum (Ogden, UT), Marian, Melva, Sister Porras, Elder Porras, Brother Olsen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9ROSkjyGee-OLJ_gXXOZSYEBYz4GEgdRY6o505g_MKINiQ7pBhbDKFYUVupSEQ61HU-bTpd2B1UKgN_Pwmqy3pq4wk9MYzQL4nqRUThUmKCYCgv0-k5hbRC6_cNtpKLMpsemwnTRAaM/s1600/IMG_5621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9ROSkjyGee-OLJ_gXXOZSYEBYz4GEgdRY6o505g_MKINiQ7pBhbDKFYUVupSEQ61HU-bTpd2B1UKgN_Pwmqy3pq4wk9MYzQL4nqRUThUmKCYCgv0-k5hbRC6_cNtpKLMpsemwnTRAaM/s400/IMG_5621.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9ROSkjyGee-OLJ_gXXOZSYEBYz4GEgdRY6o505g_MKINiQ7pBhbDKFYUVupSEQ61HU-bTpd2B1UKgN_Pwmqy3pq4wk9MYzQL4nqRUThUmKCYCgv0-k5hbRC6_cNtpKLMpsemwnTRAaM/s1600/IMG_5621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday Grace and Jayline Martinez turned 18. We dropped by to tell them "Happy Birthday" and drop off birthday bags. They bags contained a microwave potato bag and a couple of sweet potatoes. They love potatoes, but have never had sweet potatoes.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoT4wekyuPQV3luzj6wAjj6s6J3dWLWawWaP3buLC4mksqa8BUenmRR6Vxqx3h_DPC46uHMZSP5o-Iy3rngTUKXr7-1jgRGiMUmSQfn7YbDWfIuIgDfSMyGewTvX_oj-fLWMYI-jHcz5E/s1600/IMG_5623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoT4wekyuPQV3luzj6wAjj6s6J3dWLWawWaP3buLC4mksqa8BUenmRR6Vxqx3h_DPC46uHMZSP5o-Iy3rngTUKXr7-1jgRGiMUmSQfn7YbDWfIuIgDfSMyGewTvX_oj-fLWMYI-jHcz5E/s320/IMG_5623.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, we went out for Mexican food on <span style="color: red;"><b>Cinco</b></span> <span style="background-color: white;">de </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d;"><b>Mayo </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">at Senior Pepe's Restaurant. James had beef fajitas and I had caldo de polo (chicken soup).<br />YUMMY!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Saturday we went to two baptisms. The first one was for Areda Tallon, who is about 60 years old. She had to be baptized three times because the first two times her leg kept coming up out of the water. The second baptism was for Jackson Wells, an eight year old boy. His mother, Lisa, was baptized last December. They are in our ward.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMzhJJa1g2ls3frTl6qXN0DFWuuhcXvxGy-1PSN-T-MhOR8SRgDQytr6zSQ2ruhQNwqDGPATUTlsj1EustkHXNC1CjxHP8dKV16XfynkwqG4jNH4OAPVxPHmzzAY831eW8BkHl4h_tZU/s1600/11582649-5131-4538-8562-CBD3D1168384-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitMzhJJa1g2ls3frTl6qXN0DFWuuhcXvxGy-1PSN-T-MhOR8SRgDQytr6zSQ2ruhQNwqDGPATUTlsj1EustkHXNC1CjxHP8dKV16XfynkwqG4jNH4OAPVxPHmzzAY831eW8BkHl4h_tZU/s400/11582649-5131-4538-8562-CBD3D1168384-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bakersfield has roaches. We had heard that, but had not seen any until a couple months ago. Then we started seeing a few in our apartment. Thankfully, they are not the "Texas-sized" roaches we used to see in Texas. They sprayed our apartment and we haven't seen anymore lately. Bakersfield also seems to have quite a few spiders. We have seen a few in our apartment and more on our little patio.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike>mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-35249820527766716772017-04-30T17:11:00.002-07:002017-04-30T17:11:57.232-07:00Week of April 24 - 30<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Zone Conferences</b> came around again, and because of time constraints they had to schedule several of them together. James and I attended. Tuesday we drove to Lancaster where the Palmdale, Lancaster, and Lancaster East Zones had a Zone Conference all together.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSW5M7uX1BQKoYYygf3VuJQTI0rU_JXMau1yKjPZX97K8DKWbv0N_JwzefZfHx8Y5eggQNG2UfTdu5gi7rmiI14FNY6fQyaaW1ubefSU46hSBmekcUVczw0rsPOIlGoGx-3w071UElqwM/s1600/IMG_5569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSW5M7uX1BQKoYYygf3VuJQTI0rU_JXMau1yKjPZX97K8DKWbv0N_JwzefZfHx8Y5eggQNG2UfTdu5gi7rmiI14FNY6fQyaaW1ubefSU46hSBmekcUVczw0rsPOIlGoGx-3w071UElqwM/s640/IMG_5569.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuM1qtVs-I5TD2NF7jgYJbg07w-rhrp83UypgGDNrfJmo_XoXejVNHoAswsFfeiOotQgshZEbzfFpWEbAdqNwikPavguKxCjqfM71PdHJ6AyBUcJjVtahG8RM8ErRg1EhBAy0ceiKOIb8/s1600/IMG_5567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuM1qtVs-I5TD2NF7jgYJbg07w-rhrp83UypgGDNrfJmo_XoXejVNHoAswsFfeiOotQgshZEbzfFpWEbAdqNwikPavguKxCjqfM71PdHJ6AyBUcJjVtahG8RM8ErRg1EhBAy0ceiKOIb8/s640/IMG_5567.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmW3HEaOwO74kLEYsaa0mrDMP93S-75lWBRFJ7p0Wb8PtXrU2b6H8jrlgmhJkIkuObZGwuAkD-HMgklEeIbDeFuhfonDztFyG5m2Z_Bbrngh2tKAm4gouB0nRU5S0keDU9u-eXAKE2vjM/s1600/IMG_5563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmW3HEaOwO74kLEYsaa0mrDMP93S-75lWBRFJ7p0Wb8PtXrU2b6H8jrlgmhJkIkuObZGwuAkD-HMgklEeIbDeFuhfonDztFyG5m2Z_Bbrngh2tKAm4gouB0nRU5S0keDU9u-eXAKE2vjM/s640/IMG_5563.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2YP__t0vQBN-YLJyGbAjlU5t5fuGWUz3EmoK6EGb3yiLVwHu-nP17ks0ojqlhi7oMVCFvlX5ucawND2RWB1WX83FeNLbVjcOKAxEtDLHMgJi1kVjfMY0NzvkvIaBgcyrfHoLaMccyCo/s1600/84A613BC-0D32-409E-AE38-EA15DB5574F5-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2YP__t0vQBN-YLJyGbAjlU5t5fuGWUz3EmoK6EGb3yiLVwHu-nP17ks0ojqlhi7oMVCFvlX5ucawND2RWB1WX83FeNLbVjcOKAxEtDLHMgJi1kVjfMY0NzvkvIaBgcyrfHoLaMccyCo/s640/84A613BC-0D32-409E-AE38-EA15DB5574F5-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sister Layton talked about why we were born 20 centuries after Jesus Christ walked the earth and not at some other time in history. She said, "These are your days!" We are here to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ and help gather the elect of Israel before He comes again. She said the Book of Mormon is the instrument of the "gathering" and you can rely on the promise in Moroni 10:4-5. President Layton talked about the power of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon allows us to get out of the way and be taught by the Spirit. The Book of Mormon is one translation away from the prophets who wrote it, unlike the Bible which was translated many times from many languages. President Layton also taught the missionaries how they should answer their investigators questions and answer their objections using the Book of Mormon. He said Bible bashing gets you no where. He said don't open the Book of Mormon to prove a point; open it to let the Spirit teach. He asked several of the missionaries to bear their testimony about the power of the Book of Mormon. Our own Elder Holland shared his very personal and powerful testimony. He said he grew up in a family that were not regular scripture readers. His dad made some bad choices and ended up in prison. While there, his dad read the Book of Mormon and received peace. A couple years later when Elder Holland's brother was a junior in high school he tried to commit suicide. His dad told him to read the Book of Mormon and it would help him and bring him peace. The next thing that happened was Elder Holland's dad called him and said he was leaving the family. Elder Holland said he read the Book of Mormon that week himself, and he felt peace and came to know it was true.<br />
James showed a short safety video and talked about driving safely. I gave a short instruction on how to fill out the Baptism and Confirmation Records correctly and completely. The next day we went to Bakersfield Zone Conference with all four of the Bakersfield Zones and did our presentations again. We left after lunch, so we didn't get pictures of the zones, but below is a picture taken at lunch.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tRxoUdxmtuhriTBsUZk77e-p_FKt_Y777n-8RGL650zxik_qgM4UoHjd_CapFsq7sEj7RwZDwqTNOIgy-wbWNZ4pgu7TL3HCh6mQI0Bh8JV_5emmQVR7NuxqziHytX3vbiJHLY7t_G4/s1600/IMG_5570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6tRxoUdxmtuhriTBsUZk77e-p_FKt_Y777n-8RGL650zxik_qgM4UoHjd_CapFsq7sEj7RwZDwqTNOIgy-wbWNZ4pgu7TL3HCh6mQI0Bh8JV_5emmQVR7NuxqziHytX3vbiJHLY7t_G4/s640/IMG_5570.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Thursday morning we picked up a sandwich tray from Too Fat Sandwiches, cookies from Walmart, and I fixed big fruit and vegetable trays to send with President and Sister Layton. They had a Sister Training Leader meeting in Tehachapi and wanted to feed the sisters lunch. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSPRYFiZDps1qiwzBpHPg2HRorj5qWu0hPB4oxhp44WnTCb0-A48lqDQkIEsP7fnibjl-0HSQBzIH3tgJ-vUTHjrxHmQpc0jUigkc46aqRVC9ReQSoIQ2vHKwFrHowBnzk4p75u8kDt8/s1600/8EF4EBF5-D4CE-41F7-8EB2-C91EA87ACA46-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSPRYFiZDps1qiwzBpHPg2HRorj5qWu0hPB4oxhp44WnTCb0-A48lqDQkIEsP7fnibjl-0HSQBzIH3tgJ-vUTHjrxHmQpc0jUigkc46aqRVC9ReQSoIQ2vHKwFrHowBnzk4p75u8kDt8/s400/8EF4EBF5-D4CE-41F7-8EB2-C91EA87ACA46-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Friday night was the monthly senior dinner group. We ate at Great Castle, a Chinese restaurant. After dinner, we and the Balls went over to Jerry and Lynette Thomas's (mission housing inspectors) house to play games. We played "Mexican Train Dominoes" and "Golf", a fun card game.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtlRrQjI2VamgIdleZJANPjCtWV-T7UYIgdZOVy4YF3mkr9xzjJdG0FJlhyphenhyphencm8ckOnO3ZiegLYWveNs7QwbuGfSM56fuiBxmyl5erDQvLqsXhcDkeTKShsC3GhB-OJJyum6oNeVC6hRw/s1600/IMG_5578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtlRrQjI2VamgIdleZJANPjCtWV-T7UYIgdZOVy4YF3mkr9xzjJdG0FJlhyphenhyphencm8ckOnO3ZiegLYWveNs7QwbuGfSM56fuiBxmyl5erDQvLqsXhcDkeTKShsC3GhB-OJJyum6oNeVC6hRw/s640/IMG_5578.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Saturday we went to the big Western Street Rod Nationals car show at the fairgrounds. There were so many cars it was hard to know which direction to walk. James loves to talk to the Studebaker and '58 Chevy owners and show them pictures of his cars.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7aTEqYXXVRwk-VbHEguKFsGMm0Yn1nBwBuGmmK-Mvap8iigC2TpV2_cLZF1Rg28Y0f8ED5rXkrXTerNgHJnoq3KxUbrXNiHl1SzO0gsLtG-OfAhmJwUNe2ckJ-LCnw7bzh2IBF5URMJ0/s640/A7AF846F-257F-4BAB-BA4E-4B84FF8A1F62-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After the car show, we went to the Kern County Museum and Pioneer Village. We learned about black gold (oil) and saw all the old stores, businesses, jail, church, school, and houses that they have put in a village-like setting.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhGVy965bUL12GYlsx2MZ9EQyZv_B0ZmgWkjZEWJyBc8HdzAMNk7hi30eigcX7Xg4jiWVKNkX15zkD1I7xSBW_HRTnbbqsVNxz1ZjUQzfy2BiVWt3v62omqN9S8XiCoUNK0LWw2CLqPo/s1600/IMG_5596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhGVy965bUL12GYlsx2MZ9EQyZv_B0ZmgWkjZEWJyBc8HdzAMNk7hi30eigcX7Xg4jiWVKNkX15zkD1I7xSBW_HRTnbbqsVNxz1ZjUQzfy2BiVWt3v62omqN9S8XiCoUNK0LWw2CLqPo/s1600/IMG_5596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhGVy965bUL12GYlsx2MZ9EQyZv_B0ZmgWkjZEWJyBc8HdzAMNk7hi30eigcX7Xg4jiWVKNkX15zkD1I7xSBW_HRTnbbqsVNxz1ZjUQzfy2BiVWt3v62omqN9S8XiCoUNK0LWw2CLqPo/s320/IMG_5596.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuSyJ3VLcbdHYuPH4LYTWSoUxcLzp6u3s6kBDAO_lRz3M22jBNW4pmmgIOK37dNy8aCZz6Hh1f2Twdp3gu1gPp6eQ2jy-h7IUsWTXpuV2_Snee1Y6aLdy64mFzJ4ONU5xXJI-S0_-Dqwo/s1600/IMG_5590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuSyJ3VLcbdHYuPH4LYTWSoUxcLzp6u3s6kBDAO_lRz3M22jBNW4pmmgIOK37dNy8aCZz6Hh1f2Twdp3gu1gPp6eQ2jy-h7IUsWTXpuV2_Snee1Y6aLdy64mFzJ4ONU5xXJI-S0_-Dqwo/s320/IMG_5590.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhGVy965bUL12GYlsx2MZ9EQyZv_B0ZmgWkjZEWJyBc8HdzAMNk7hi30eigcX7Xg4jiWVKNkX15zkD1I7xSBW_HRTnbbqsVNxz1ZjUQzfy2BiVWt3v62omqN9S8XiCoUNK0LWw2CLqPo/s1600/IMG_5596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEmuxJcPDrEh-JnXpbi0arGR0wOGLUtJC_qGk46koXB-ubq6iearngDiA7x6ueY9yapAQAs-gpVQHZtz-Vd2vA1FT_DEADks-levpRrn7dKOqayzooeWTvqaTabiHd7A_N92kT706inM/s1600/IMG_5593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEmuxJcPDrEh-JnXpbi0arGR0wOGLUtJC_qGk46koXB-ubq6iearngDiA7x6ueY9yapAQAs-gpVQHZtz-Vd2vA1FT_DEADks-levpRrn7dKOqayzooeWTvqaTabiHd7A_N92kT706inM/s400/IMG_5593.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgCHMxHD4RXdYKAaIFqPGBZ3OT6zrl44Mmx5T595rzoOv1eMX91Oa8PFQtpewbONblP2Oq6iwiLAzoDqODnaUA-t6YvJi97rrWG88FosixZy_pPMLW30yjwQEjtcAVbQ2DjWjGvyhGvk/s1600/IMG_5595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX5KDkT_mPl_0Ds4ceCJxpXtfo_tI3r3bhMhMEqufuvShN5Mju59bCQ93x6O16n7YFWKdlbhvkyX4Zkz-EEpay-eEzU0ruzqvI6AWR6YErAzrmBCWeazuL5VcUCarSZRP-8GO4H0R_vk/s1600/IMG_5595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX5KDkT_mPl_0Ds4ceCJxpXtfo_tI3r3bhMhMEqufuvShN5Mju59bCQ93x6O16n7YFWKdlbhvkyX4Zkz-EEpay-eEzU0ruzqvI6AWR6YErAzrmBCWeazuL5VcUCarSZRP-8GO4H0R_vk/s320/IMG_5595.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Beale Memorial Clock Tower in front of the museum was rebuilt in 1964 after it was badly damaged from the earthquakes in 1952. It was originally built in 1904. It is a pretty cool Bakersfield landmark.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Saturday night was the YW fundraiser for girls camp at our ward. It was a spaghetti dinner followed by a dessert and service auction. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yncUChBprZnd3gwWLW1dB5Pxv2-RV4yp7IhjtdRFP_xjQyyGgOgy7GNyav-DHDOtZnNICb7bwQiGnnXXpPvd-TYHR14J2uE1-qzt6vXcNXQA2eiiFlYe33qGWpD1lDtYhM6fW-fqED4/s1600/IMG_5599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yncUChBprZnd3gwWLW1dB5Pxv2-RV4yp7IhjtdRFP_xjQyyGgOgy7GNyav-DHDOtZnNICb7bwQiGnnXXpPvd-TYHR14J2uE1-qzt6vXcNXQA2eiiFlYe33qGWpD1lDtYhM6fW-fqED4/s400/IMG_5599.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YW entertaining at the spaghetti dinner. Interesting fact - We just found out that Sister Hansen (in the blue shirt) is pregnant with twins. She has four children of her own. However, these babies are not hers. She is being a surrogate for her friend.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Have you noticed that our mission seems to revolve around food and dinners!</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other night James was dreaming a man with weapons was coming after him and he was trying to roll behind the couch to hide, so he rolled right off the bed! That was a rude awakening! No blood, just a little sore. He said he is worried because when we go home our bed is much higher and the fall will be much further if he has more wild dreams. This is the third time this has happened. I think we are going to have to get a safety bed rail for his side of the bed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-31780471355452306002017-04-23T15:20:00.001-07:002017-04-23T15:20:25.628-07:00Week of April 17 - 23<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGoya9pQPkLK_Xqx2ia_nSMzylNDMuDSHgVWEz7dQdgZSDyF59zZ8xCapuF154REsT0bfgDLvN3wDQ0vbOlJa-Rx3h69ci3zqpgklCrv-qQ9IneGgwzVr_zjHM5tvMRCWykLrdWEOK18/s1600/IMG_5545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGoya9pQPkLK_Xqx2ia_nSMzylNDMuDSHgVWEz7dQdgZSDyF59zZ8xCapuF154REsT0bfgDLvN3wDQ0vbOlJa-Rx3h69ci3zqpgklCrv-qQ9IneGgwzVr_zjHM5tvMRCWykLrdWEOK18/s1600/IMG_5545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were suppose to get six new missionaries Monday about noon, but only Elder Coronado came because he was traveling from Oklahoma. The others were coming from the MTC in Provo and spent the night in Phoenix because they could not all get on the flight. They did not arrive until 6:40 pm on Tuesday evening. President Layton reminded us that the way you spell missionary is "f-l-e-x-i-b-l-e". We all had to readjust our schedules and plans. We had already set up for lunch at the stake center, and I was just about to turn the ovens on to bake the potatoes and sweet potatoes. Instead of lunch on Monday for the arriving missionaries and lunch on Tuesday for the departing missionaries, we had the arriving lunch on Wednesday. It all worked out in the end because we are "flexible". Elder Coronado was only in our mission <u>four</u> days because his visa arrived just after he got here and on Thursday he flew to Guatemala where he was originally called. He served in Guatemala previously for about eight months, but got sick and had to go home to Oklahoma for almost a year. Then he was called back to the same mission in Guatemala. It makes one wonder why he came to our mission for just a few days. He told President Layton he knew why he came. He said our missionaries love their missions and really want to serve. He said it was not that way where he was serving in Guatemala. Elder Coronado said he is going to try to change things when he goes back now that he saw how it was here.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl49IXHReZxLBvSu8QN34uaG3vd3So6QES_pEs_krtwagqoeH9tEKRBl-1-Gr3Uz-hT9FFKXNGHJrruUtDxWhXJSKTAKoBti4A0lnQAWTeypR1lgRZKc45KT6EBExN5dRi_qkBkHODeAM/s1600/IMG_5547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl49IXHReZxLBvSu8QN34uaG3vd3So6QES_pEs_krtwagqoeH9tEKRBl-1-Gr3Uz-hT9FFKXNGHJrruUtDxWhXJSKTAKoBti4A0lnQAWTeypR1lgRZKc45KT6EBExN5dRi_qkBkHODeAM/s400/IMG_5547.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGoya9pQPkLK_Xqx2ia_nSMzylNDMuDSHgVWEz7dQdgZSDyF59zZ8xCapuF154REsT0bfgDLvN3wDQ0vbOlJa-Rx3h69ci3zqpgklCrv-qQ9IneGgwzVr_zjHM5tvMRCWykLrdWEOK18/s320/IMG_5545.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seven sisters and one lone elder, Elder Diaz, returned home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0qPRaJ5urGI3gyuUWOXBNPAKYmn2PpJPf1UAjqPQeEOx0uX2oz7CLMAvJjBgtDou7j-Ea6YS82Vj7_tLOKx9EUsaHx7T7UTTCuJfI2AVri-nXuYpsZRHgTppCAn3LqQMBZLaRkIrt08/s1600/7953EF8B-5949-4531-B1CE-A35FF3C96497-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0qPRaJ5urGI3gyuUWOXBNPAKYmn2PpJPf1UAjqPQeEOx0uX2oz7CLMAvJjBgtDou7j-Ea6YS82Vj7_tLOKx9EUsaHx7T7UTTCuJfI2AVri-nXuYpsZRHgTppCAn3LqQMBZLaRkIrt08/s640/7953EF8B-5949-4531-B1CE-A35FF3C96497-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our six new arrived missionaries plus their companions enjoying lunch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thursday we were finally able to take Melva to the Family History Center and opened her an LDS account and signed into Family Search. Since she had the names of her grandparents on both sides and a few dates and places, less than an hour later, she walked out with those names plus that of her father ready to take to the temple. We were all so excited! Now, we are planning a time when we can take her to the temple.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDXIJIOHWazDwi98mkTsX8hPtZpmxl3vAJAdxUb8QYEFOCbxgA51Nw7RL01irgABUhb0lnkbJAhNu-S1aDkguy9UQK1lUUaRAPBlNHpDeBITm4A5cUrEuVcDdqNDdXCuGvgBAQyucYmU/s1600/IMG_5555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDXIJIOHWazDwi98mkTsX8hPtZpmxl3vAJAdxUb8QYEFOCbxgA51Nw7RL01irgABUhb0lnkbJAhNu-S1aDkguy9UQK1lUUaRAPBlNHpDeBITm4A5cUrEuVcDdqNDdXCuGvgBAQyucYmU/s640/IMG_5555.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Friday night we had another potluck dinner at the mission home with the mission staff and Elder and Sister Brown, farmland missionaries from the "nut" farm (almond farm). We ate outside on the patio by the pool.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We each wrote down two things about ourselves that no one (except our spouse) would know. We found out that Dr. Brooks was a good friend of Ted Bundy's and even set his sister up on a date with Bundy. Wow! James wrote he worked in a flower shop and held state records for running when he was in Jr High. I wrote that I grew up in a house with no indoor toilet and then moved to a house previously owned by polygamists.</div>
<br />
Sister Layton says they use the pool quite often. They have a pool at their home in Utah also.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look what I have for my computer desktop at the mission office! This beautiful group of people pop up every time I open my computer. AMAZING!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MrcYzV9-WXGO4FN2kR5dfPbHiS5eLqjWx2Fwj3U_D3BYYvksNJD6dE8SBgj4aCPGJgN-Toe8alDxeYJnJ6ZpxJDHZG6vArb3Ze6q85R-Tmw9pM1GXV0oOUs7d2Uev6Og1qj8XGL3Mts/s1600/IMG_5544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MrcYzV9-WXGO4FN2kR5dfPbHiS5eLqjWx2Fwj3U_D3BYYvksNJD6dE8SBgj4aCPGJgN-Toe8alDxeYJnJ6ZpxJDHZG6vArb3Ze6q85R-Tmw9pM1GXV0oOUs7d2Uev6Og1qj8XGL3Mts/s640/IMG_5544.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last week our mission had fifteen baptisms! This week there was only one. We attended it. Brittany Faulkner, a young mother of a ten month old daughter, was baptized.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sunday was our Ward Conference. After Sacrament Meeting we talked to the man sitting next to us and found out this was his first time in twenty years to come to church. I asked him, "How did it feel?" He replied, "Like I have been gone too long!" Hopefully, he will continue to come. Bishop Butler gave a talk and had an important question that we should all ask ourselves, <b><span style="color: purple;">"Is your Heavenly Father pleased with your service?"</span></b> We can also ask Heavenly Father directly if He is pleased and what we need to do to be better.<br />
They did not have the Spanish Group Sacrament Meeting today, so we got home from church earlier.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Bakersfield, California is</u><span style="color: red;"><u> </u><b><u>#1</u></b></span><span style="color: black;">!</span> This is not a good thing however. Bakersfield tops the list of the 10 US cities most polluted by short-term particle pollution. Cache Valley, Utah came in #10 on the <b>"State of the Air"</b> report. That's not good either.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-62156327489232806822017-04-16T20:02:00.001-07:002017-06-01T08:08:38.492-07:00Week of April 10 - 16 (Easter)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTN9_N1V5DciFD4Ukid-FwRrD6gLGBxPneVdwLtWgAGKp2y6p0YDOMzNoVInht5bewGjPoihhuOtvQF-3QoD7bDmLUmGzEH2C_Zr2aCIci1mzLqtc2G1uofyPkXHSnfg6WxhiUDafTmY/s1600/IMG_5527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTN9_N1V5DciFD4Ukid-FwRrD6gLGBxPneVdwLtWgAGKp2y6p0YDOMzNoVInht5bewGjPoihhuOtvQF-3QoD7bDmLUmGzEH2C_Zr2aCIci1mzLqtc2G1uofyPkXHSnfg6WxhiUDafTmY/s320/IMG_5527.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
This <span style="color: magenta;">Easter</span> week our mission president asked the missionaries to study and reflect on the Savior's last week of his earthly ministry, so we did. Jesus Christ taught the people so many great parables and lessons that last week. He instituted the sacrament. He suffered so much for each one of us by taking upon himself our sins, heartaches, trials, sicknesses, etc. Then he was resurrected so each one of us can be resurrected one day and live with him and our Heavenly Father! That was the most momentous weekend in the history of the world. One of our missionaries who came into the office on Friday asked why it was called "Good Friday". He thought it should be called "Bad Friday" because Jesus was crucified. Good Friday is good because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of <span style="color: magenta;">Easter</span>. Good Friday marks the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That is why Good Friday is so dark and so Good at the same time.<br />
<br />
Here is an interesting little tidbit: <u><i>Mary</i></u> lives next door to us and <u><i>Martha</i></u> lives next door to her. They are both widows and both of them have moved here in just the last few months.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thursday afternoon we picked up Grace and Jayline (they were on Spring Break) and drove to the <span style="color: orange;"><b>Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve</b></span> near Lancaster. The California Poppy was named the State Flower in l903. Poppies close up at night, when it is cloudy, or when the cold wind blows. It was cloudy, kind of chilly, and very windy so the poppies were mostly closed. It would have looked more like a sea of <span style="color: #b45f06;">orange</span> if they had been open.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7PoRi3PT2pSC1Rf71zU5Rh103Z28ozJQO138I7RlgAhCLpkOQV7fogzOsZP80jRx830GX4cRKbnTUAdT0ms4gHMHf_W8rQpfrb1nVgwSfPGyHWWthpm8WNTtufe5hiVwM4VQIKfWq-4/s1600/AB22A061-176D-47E0-8D5F-85BF9DE4C399-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7PoRi3PT2pSC1Rf71zU5Rh103Z28ozJQO138I7RlgAhCLpkOQV7fogzOsZP80jRx830GX4cRKbnTUAdT0ms4gHMHf_W8rQpfrb1nVgwSfPGyHWWthpm8WNTtufe5hiVwM4VQIKfWq-4/s640/AB22A061-176D-47E0-8D5F-85BF9DE4C399-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We drove the girls down the Musical Road in Lancaster to hear "The Lone Ranger" theme song. Then we ate dinner at Sizzler before we drove home. Sizzler has a nice salad bar which I love and was good for Jayline and Grace since they are both vegetarians. James enjoyed steak and shrimp.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Friday Elder Pyfer from Castle Rock was released and returned home to get better. He said he has bad headaches and anxiety that make him unable to function. He hopes to be able to get it under control and return back to his mission in a couple of months. He has been out on his mission for about nine months and has been a very good missionary.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We saw a movie, "The Zookeeper's Wife", Friday night. It was a true story of a couple in Warsaw, Poland during World War II. He was director of the Warsaw Zoo and she loved animals. The Germans came in and killed many of the animals and took the best ones. They hid one of their Jewish friends in their home and then were able to save 300 others from the Warsaw Ghetto. It was really moving!</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9BVaA3ppkicC5B8lv58etyQzdGTI_6WldttjoyCj-8iryFY2XEG4tiUL_ONYanY8ZBj-s34F1qH52mrwmw3cNXlKe-PdeajsOXfL-2YkvWxvZS3qPcL2-8AOeVKvCXhObQoV2SKnrzc/s1600/IMG_5534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9BVaA3ppkicC5B8lv58etyQzdGTI_6WldttjoyCj-8iryFY2XEG4tiUL_ONYanY8ZBj-s34F1qH52mrwmw3cNXlKe-PdeajsOXfL-2YkvWxvZS3qPcL2-8AOeVKvCXhObQoV2SKnrzc/s1600/IMG_5534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9BVaA3ppkicC5B8lv58etyQzdGTI_6WldttjoyCj-8iryFY2XEG4tiUL_ONYanY8ZBj-s34F1qH52mrwmw3cNXlKe-PdeajsOXfL-2YkvWxvZS3qPcL2-8AOeVKvCXhObQoV2SKnrzc/s200/IMG_5534.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
On Saturday we made some drop by visits to an investigator and two recently baptized members, visited, and took them some pumpkin fruit muffins. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOe-GEjaidJzKFh1YHOTUK75inxo4JiSO5atTkn8Cey9IxwOKtMD4_bF9EMFI-CYLiDWWO3Jv0Ped32hzOFmuKo-RihcMQjkrdv2BUd3xaQ2c1R17tB-c_PzU7A1WzPeuYZ7vCUbuUJw/s1600/IMG_5531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOe-GEjaidJzKFh1YHOTUK75inxo4JiSO5atTkn8Cey9IxwOKtMD4_bF9EMFI-CYLiDWWO3Jv0Ped32hzOFmuKo-RihcMQjkrdv2BUd3xaQ2c1R17tB-c_PzU7A1WzPeuYZ7vCUbuUJw/s1600/IMG_5531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOe-GEjaidJzKFh1YHOTUK75inxo4JiSO5atTkn8Cey9IxwOKtMD4_bF9EMFI-CYLiDWWO3Jv0Ped32hzOFmuKo-RihcMQjkrdv2BUd3xaQ2c1R17tB-c_PzU7A1WzPeuYZ7vCUbuUJw/s400/IMG_5531.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Then we went to Jayden Harlow's baptism. He is a 19 year old who will be going to the Young Single Adult Ward. His grandfather baptized him. The baptismal font's plug was not working well, so the water was draining almost as fast as it was filling. Jayden had to sit down and then lean back to get completely immersed. His parents were not active, so he did not grow up with the church. He said maybe they will get reactivated now that he is baptized.<br />
<br />
Sister Harmon and Sister Hayes are the sweet missionaries who taught him. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Later, we met Elder Rowley and Hulet at the church along with Mike who they are teaching. We all gave him a tour of the church building to help him get familiar with what it looks like and what takes place on Sundays and other days of the week. We answered the questions he had. He has to work tomorrow, so it will be the next Sunday before he can attend.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Sunday morning we went to the Brimhall Ward to hear Jane Morris report on her mission to Chili. She is the daughter of Matt & Patti Morris who are Church Service Missionaries (vehicles, newspaper & referrals) in our mission. We saw the Gray's (where we had dinner later) there also. He told me that another one of our high school classmates, Philip Lewis, was in the 5th Ward. The 5th Ward shares the building with our ward, Bakersfield 2nd Ward. So, when we got to our church building we asked around and found him. We had a nice reunion. His wife's brother, Eric Clyde, was also one of our classmates. Then, just before the Spanish Sacrament Meeting we were talking to the father-in-law of our group leader and found out that his wife, Sandra Page, was also one of my classmates. They are here from Simi Valley visiting their daughter and family. Sandra stayed home because she wasn't feeling well, so we didn't get to see her. Sandra's husband graduated in 1969 like we did, but from Sky View High. He also graduated from Utah State in l974 like James did.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The music on Easter Sunday is always beautiful and taking the sacrament is extra meaningful!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We had Easter dinner at Maile & Waylon Gray's house. I graduated from high school with her. A couple months ago I saw her at the Los Angeles Temple and recognized her. They live in Bakersfield, but have their house up for sale and will soon be moving to Iowa where one of their sons live.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
(Sunday certainly seemed to be a high school reunion day!)</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAB_JS1f9DRjb1DlGnCcTm4gneyMChh-RuBp3wUmxXlBOwTdIfX5OI6P1JePpW_ZVLLELsfqVBtQcYf5ttqhbkh4P9puIYSDaEi0mrZWTXPATshhvpAchtovzTNBZrdAKFy6IeCCAIUJ8/s1600/IMG_5537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAB_JS1f9DRjb1DlGnCcTm4gneyMChh-RuBp3wUmxXlBOwTdIfX5OI6P1JePpW_ZVLLELsfqVBtQcYf5ttqhbkh4P9puIYSDaEi0mrZWTXPATshhvpAchtovzTNBZrdAKFy6IeCCAIUJ8/s400/IMG_5537.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz00roVirBImxadx3wiOIr9fkXZDTLWVGnc8GXY5ST35hlHJmOXqZ28atvEIvqrGVVqrIjCJ1KvmLgPT5spg_FQADBRMjdZQiAdpk9DJr3tGFAihbnp3RiR9rez2W6EpEreUKg55BqM_s/s1600/IMG_5542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz00roVirBImxadx3wiOIr9fkXZDTLWVGnc8GXY5ST35hlHJmOXqZ28atvEIvqrGVVqrIjCJ1KvmLgPT5spg_FQADBRMjdZQiAdpk9DJr3tGFAihbnp3RiR9rez2W6EpEreUKg55BqM_s/s400/IMG_5542.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alecia and classmate, Philip Lewis and Alecia and classmate, Maile Roberts Gray</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz00roVirBImxadx3wiOIr9fkXZDTLWVGnc8GXY5ST35hlHJmOXqZ28atvEIvqrGVVqrIjCJ1KvmLgPT5spg_FQADBRMjdZQiAdpk9DJr3tGFAihbnp3RiR9rez2W6EpEreUKg55BqM_s/s1600/IMG_5542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz00roVirBImxadx3wiOIr9fkXZDTLWVGnc8GXY5ST35hlHJmOXqZ28atvEIvqrGVVqrIjCJ1KvmLgPT5spg_FQADBRMjdZQiAdpk9DJr3tGFAihbnp3RiR9rez2W6EpEreUKg55BqM_s/s1600/IMG_5542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>We talked to Janel and her boys on Easter. They are all in Prague. Yesterday, they had dinner at Martin's parents house. They ate rabbit. James teased the boys that they ate the Easter bunny.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We certainly missed the holiday with our family, but were so happy they carried on without us. They had Easter dinner at our house and even had the annual Easter egg hunt in the yard.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
<br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-76395736336483146522017-04-09T16:45:00.001-07:002017-04-09T16:45:44.024-07:00Week of April 3 - 9<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look who we found in California! Our son, Tony, and his two managers went to their Big O Tire Convention in San Diego Monday thru Wednesday. The convention wrapped up Wednesday after lunch, so we were able to meet them in Pomona. It was about a two to two and a half hour drive for each of us. We met at Wally Parks NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Motorsports Museum. We arrived about an hour before they did, but it was okay. It happened to be the first Cruise-In Car Show of the season out in the parking lot. James was in seventh heaven looking at all the old cars and showing off the pictures on his phone of all his old cars to anyone who was interested. Several people commented that we were "overdressed" for the occasion. Yes, we were. Finally, Tony, Nick, and Shawn got there. It was so good to see Tony after more than nine months! We enjoyed the museum and car show together. Then we ate dinner at a little Mexican tacueria that turned out to have very good food. Both Nick and Shawn each have three children and are trying to be good fathers. We gave them the little booklet, "<i>Three Simple Ways to Become A Happier Family</i>", during our dinner conversation. Nick seemed to be especially interested as he thumbed thru and read some of it. He said, "I think we will read this together as a family". On Monday, they had a chance to go to the Mormon Battalion Museum in San Diego which they all said was pretty interesting and cool. I had to remind Tony that he had a relative (his 4th great grandfather) who served in the Mormon Battalion. Another year at their convention in Arizona, Tony took them to the Visitor's Center at the Mesa Arizona Temple. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRthioWAcOYcQ_RSWhDsOk6_y839p-fuuAPgjIsUNilWhrmNGz3cU8NncVfKKgdw7gdU7Ac-lbRRTKEjgQuzWmpjlVcfJE7CAgxox5-ObsVKNlXuhiNemmLxo68eHwQorbVdm4JP57Ik/s1600/39BC348C-6EE2-4084-8C0F-8D1821F26811-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRthioWAcOYcQ_RSWhDsOk6_y839p-fuuAPgjIsUNilWhrmNGz3cU8NncVfKKgdw7gdU7Ac-lbRRTKEjgQuzWmpjlVcfJE7CAgxox5-ObsVKNlXuhiNemmLxo68eHwQorbVdm4JP57Ik/s640/39BC348C-6EE2-4084-8C0F-8D1821F26811-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Then it came time to say goodbye. After the hugs, they climbed into their convertible, waved, and drove off to Hollywood. Nick had never been to California so Tony wanted him to see a few things. They had to have the top down on their Mustang even in the evening when it got a little cool, otherwise big Shawn and Nick would not fit in the car. Shawn had a real struggle trying to get his seatbelt buckled in the back seat. Finally, after about five minutes of both James and Tony helping him it was a success!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHXrrxE4etuvkgu8_oj88hq_d89g08Z9GQxj6HigNj7kG6xfq3Utkz4laZb7N-YAAr0zp4D4AHCESYsArxL9bEgeBO-MBPOWjnKs-Q1nUbtvKMB5foLKiH4X6NX-9Km3s3Mzc25bUkzw/s1600/IMG_5504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHXrrxE4etuvkgu8_oj88hq_d89g08Z9GQxj6HigNj7kG6xfq3Utkz4laZb7N-YAAr0zp4D4AHCESYsArxL9bEgeBO-MBPOWjnKs-Q1nUbtvKMB5foLKiH4X6NX-9Km3s3Mzc25bUkzw/s400/IMG_5504.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/family/images/3simplesteps.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="3 Simple Ways to a Happier Family manual" border="0" class="float-left padding-right-xs" height="200" src="https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/family/images/3simplesteps.gif" width="135" /></a></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Troy called to tell us they just had the sister missionaries over that their ward and our ward share. He said one of them is Sister Slaughter from Bakersfield. He told her his parents were on a mission in Bakersfield. Troy suggested to the missionaries that they should knock on our door when Tyson (the guy living in our house) would be home and ask for us. That would give them a good way to visit with Tyson about the church. </div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The Slaughter's are in our stake. We don't know them, but have heard the name. They just returned last July from being mission president in the San Antonio Mission. We were able to find their phone number and James called James Slaughter to tell him that his daughter is serving in our home ward. They had a nice visit and Brother Slaughter had even been to Gonzales, Texas (James' birth place) a few times since it was in his mission. Small world!</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We attempted to visit a couple of investigators with Elder Rowley and Elder Hulet this week, but nobody was home. We also tried to help find a homeless guy who is living here. His mother, who lives near Anaheim, called the mission office concerned about him and also sent a small package for him. He has not shown up yet.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
For some odd reason, we went to three movies over the weekend; "Going In Style" on Friday and both "Queen Of The Desert" and "Case For Christ" on Saturday.</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoc0yOrULHyM-kOK5aFlo1LZqEWUHLNZTXOrSPtVie3efZ50gS_N0jVvyc_-KB-SdRx6h2U4KaWyQ3hKYpWgKWtXSVXYr8KsGf9WNCdo9yp-8TxL0Z59yjweQv6ZoqTOHYJnlpI-_goo/s1600/IMG_5486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoc0yOrULHyM-kOK5aFlo1LZqEWUHLNZTXOrSPtVie3efZ50gS_N0jVvyc_-KB-SdRx6h2U4KaWyQ3hKYpWgKWtXSVXYr8KsGf9WNCdo9yp-8TxL0Z59yjweQv6ZoqTOHYJnlpI-_goo/s1600/IMG_5486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoc0yOrULHyM-kOK5aFlo1LZqEWUHLNZTXOrSPtVie3efZ50gS_N0jVvyc_-KB-SdRx6h2U4KaWyQ3hKYpWgKWtXSVXYr8KsGf9WNCdo9yp-8TxL0Z59yjweQv6ZoqTOHYJnlpI-_goo/s1600/IMG_5486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoc0yOrULHyM-kOK5aFlo1LZqEWUHLNZTXOrSPtVie3efZ50gS_N0jVvyc_-KB-SdRx6h2U4KaWyQ3hKYpWgKWtXSVXYr8KsGf9WNCdo9yp-8TxL0Z59yjweQv6ZoqTOHYJnlpI-_goo/s320/IMG_5486.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoc0yOrULHyM-kOK5aFlo1LZqEWUHLNZTXOrSPtVie3efZ50gS_N0jVvyc_-KB-SdRx6h2U4KaWyQ3hKYpWgKWtXSVXYr8KsGf9WNCdo9yp-8TxL0Z59yjweQv6ZoqTOHYJnlpI-_goo/s1600/IMG_5486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We should have saved our pictures and information about palm trees that we posted last week until this week since today is "Palm Sunday". Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus Christ rode on a donkey into Jerusalem and the people laid down palm branches in his path. The donkey is an animal of peace symbolizing his entry as the <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Prince of Peace</span></b>. Palm branches symbolized goodness and victory. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #38761d;">Check out </span><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Prince of Peace</span></b><span style="color: #38761d;"> on lds.org this week and watch the beautiful, poignant video. There are also 8 principles of peace to help us find peace in our lives. Each principle is explained with a short video.</span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: magenta; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-43711554959276287382017-04-02T20:24:00.001-07:002017-04-02T20:24:27.091-07:00Week of March 27 - April 2<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZcdIyf-C_M3aelPVlvy5V57BUb9-dBEUoMzmGnj5rCxJQaDRoOM9IUocRpzzayrJ_Qb2kxBXYfWEXfD4EaQZeuW90LSRmvIpvTsqZIitAUldiWEU3TrSOgv_oKX9XoC88B9xE-5N0K4/s1600/IMG_5466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZcdIyf-C_M3aelPVlvy5V57BUb9-dBEUoMzmGnj5rCxJQaDRoOM9IUocRpzzayrJ_Qb2kxBXYfWEXfD4EaQZeuW90LSRmvIpvTsqZIitAUldiWEU3TrSOgv_oKX9XoC88B9xE-5N0K4/s320/IMG_5466.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We have been enjoying near perfect days and weather lately. We have also been enjoying our pretty daffodils.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This week was pretty ordinary with nothing very exciting to report. We just went to work everyday and tried to keep busy. Missionaries came into the office to get large print Book of Mormons, a German Book of Mormon, media Bibles, a children's Book of Mormon, pass along cards, and their packages. A few brought in their baptismal records, car receipts, and a set of sisters brought their car so James could look at a dent and scratch. President Layton was doing interviews this week at the different stake centers in Bakersfield. Sister Layton called James Thursday morning to say they had a flat tire in the church parking lot. James went over to fix it. A man was walking his dog near the parking lot and went to get his hydraulic jack to make changing the tire easier. That was very nice and helpful. Then James took their car to get the tire fixed and ended up buying four new tires. He didn't even go to Big O Tires because the church has used a local tire shop for a long time. James told the salesman (who was not familiar with the church account) it was the President's car, and he looked at him very strangely. He thought that James looked quite official with his white shirt and tie, and his first impression was that it was Obama's car. Then they had a good laugh about it after James explained about the mission and the mission president.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <u>restoration</u> company was in and out of the office for a couple days finishing up the water heater leak problem. On the third day, I had an inspiration to ask the men if they knew that Jesus Christ's church had been <u>restored</u> to the earth and would they want to know more. It would have been a great conversation starter, but they did not come anymore because they were finished with their part of the work. I missed a great opportunity. A couple other guys came to put the new sheet rock up and paint. The man in charge asked us if we were Mormons. He said his mother and brother joined our church some time ago. We talked to him about it and why he hasn't joined. James ended up giving both him and his helper Book of Mormons (one English and one Spanish) before they left. They both said thank you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNSMUrkLHS1tAdY463gQM7Jro37p67WGAwIMsL6lAH8vkk-FKPKuzAptAAGIt4M2CFpgvukxVTItjuHoTfO-wTMDVE5QMI0HVcMQsjkeCXHiQzqCrNZkz_qr9GqZW-ey7CAt-B1B4m5I/s1600/IMG_5497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNSMUrkLHS1tAdY463gQM7Jro37p67WGAwIMsL6lAH8vkk-FKPKuzAptAAGIt4M2CFpgvukxVTItjuHoTfO-wTMDVE5QMI0HVcMQsjkeCXHiQzqCrNZkz_qr9GqZW-ey7CAt-B1B4m5I/s320/IMG_5497.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNSMUrkLHS1tAdY463gQM7Jro37p67WGAwIMsL6lAH8vkk-FKPKuzAptAAGIt4M2CFpgvukxVTItjuHoTfO-wTMDVE5QMI0HVcMQsjkeCXHiQzqCrNZkz_qr9GqZW-ey7CAt-B1B4m5I/s1600/IMG_5497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We went shopping to buy me a new purse because mine broke. Purse shopping is not easy and finding the right purse (size, color, shape, straps, price, etc.) is very difficult. I think I love the third purse I brought home and will return the other two.<br />
<br />
People in Bakersfield have always been so nice and friendly. However, we encountered two different men Friday evening when we were shopping and doing errands that were not so nice. They each seemed to want to start an argument about our religion, but we kept our cool.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Saturday we had 50 baptisms in our mission. Our missionaries have really been working extra hard!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">April Fool's! Actually, we didn't have any baptisms scheduled because of General Conference.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95nI42GXbtrMVAyL1bSKNlvcoDRFdiH-5VBcoZ4JDqknr63EdHfxf_du7TPMBOtXGMnks2EKN6i7bGBX1AwKCTlnn3fzS5JyUpVPD-kWElhuY5aUqfBXTot1GxJmUJISq2Ve9TAAk2pY/s1600/IMG_5477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95nI42GXbtrMVAyL1bSKNlvcoDRFdiH-5VBcoZ4JDqknr63EdHfxf_du7TPMBOtXGMnks2EKN6i7bGBX1AwKCTlnn3fzS5JyUpVPD-kWElhuY5aUqfBXTot1GxJmUJISq2Ve9TAAk2pY/s320/IMG_5477.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
General Conference this weekend was wonderful! We watched most of the sessions on our computer at home. It was fun to see my cuz, Alan Niederhauser, singing his heart out in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (Alan is the blonde man on the far left.)</div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHmSYHzliiq_E_nBIgA6tClBxiJZW6SA7LWg6-tXc2LZhbeMUf849XmOcli739Wkx8EwTSD7oCz5B_AWDs0wj37rk9rd5S1sdPACN69Tq7uT-NeoY6ZsMc5LBaTWt6CewtDU5LGd5wUs/s1600/5C12A8A1-BD6D-45BC-8C0D-B34B707CAD1B-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHmSYHzliiq_E_nBIgA6tClBxiJZW6SA7LWg6-tXc2LZhbeMUf849XmOcli739Wkx8EwTSD7oCz5B_AWDs0wj37rk9rd5S1sdPACN69Tq7uT-NeoY6ZsMc5LBaTWt6CewtDU5LGd5wUs/s640/5C12A8A1-BD6D-45BC-8C0D-B34B707CAD1B-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Sunday, I made a big fruit salad and pumpkin raspberry/blueberry muffins that we took over to the potluck lunch with the Hispanic members at our stake center. They invited all the missionaries that were there to eat with them also. It is such a nice tradition they have to eat a meal together between conference sessions. They have carried on this tradition for about twenty years. Then we stayed and watched the last session of conference at the church. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefIDnwZ7_9xfKoDQ4s7bmzA16KrTtSy1iBDk6ZTFSXewI96GuIPccdW-WkMdmBWlK14nBUpe904Fj6p5_K2vEoSWiBkZdyqRhqFF3K4UtyHlCRNFozTOzYrUkG2qwxegUUm5IavL-_Ks/s1600/IMG_5480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefIDnwZ7_9xfKoDQ4s7bmzA16KrTtSy1iBDk6ZTFSXewI96GuIPccdW-WkMdmBWlK14nBUpe904Fj6p5_K2vEoSWiBkZdyqRhqFF3K4UtyHlCRNFozTOzYrUkG2qwxegUUm5IavL-_Ks/s400/IMG_5480.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
There were three sets of sister missionaries watching the conference at the church and a bunch of elders. The sisters had already left when we decided to take a picture, so here are the elders.<br />
(The elder standing to the left of James is 6'8".)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsWzDnnIc4-3mAbcONf26pO0XoEUjQOdwttrfxf4qopaWzAEB5MeSnbA6jaqd7vH51DkBs3TQ2Bx24wyEWyBlkvre8OYBZ8FqFf6S5ZDTJUwfA9lFJlgRo9RSryasWoLNROHovQia-Cw/s1600/IMG_5485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsWzDnnIc4-3mAbcONf26pO0XoEUjQOdwttrfxf4qopaWzAEB5MeSnbA6jaqd7vH51DkBs3TQ2Bx24wyEWyBlkvre8OYBZ8FqFf6S5ZDTJUwfA9lFJlgRo9RSryasWoLNROHovQia-Cw/s640/IMG_5485.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Did you know that there are 2600 varieties of palm trees? Surprisingly, there is only one kind of palm tree that is native to California, the California Palm. The others have been imported and what would California be without them. Bakersfield has lots of different kinds of palm trees. Some are very skinny and tall, some are short, and some look like huge pineapples. Palm trees make you feel like you are on vacation.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMN2PAJJzSaof_vJ-GqyXCrQkkI5zt0mLET2z1UMnNHXAKRfUZ4IO6vbGZ8Hv3jRiKxfZi4B9Y4uPVZMVWiVH3OYftjoABRROci7lUasWOMxlJcvktxDrjQM-7mgZ0Xx95w7EWuQYSe7c/s1600/7DCB2FBF-9739-4E75-AA3C-42D2A1BEB50B-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMN2PAJJzSaof_vJ-GqyXCrQkkI5zt0mLET2z1UMnNHXAKRfUZ4IO6vbGZ8Hv3jRiKxfZi4B9Y4uPVZMVWiVH3OYftjoABRROci7lUasWOMxlJcvktxDrjQM-7mgZ0Xx95w7EWuQYSe7c/s640/7DCB2FBF-9739-4E75-AA3C-42D2A1BEB50B-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-56419780799351707292017-03-26T16:17:00.001-07:002017-03-26T16:17:36.348-07:00Week of March 20-26<div style="text-align: justify;">
I swore off sugar for now. A few months ago Sister Harmon "invited" me to stop eating sugar. She "testified" it would be a beneficial move. I told her I was not ready to accept her invitation. A few years ago I did stop eating sugar for at least six months or longer and it was a good thing. Anyway, I finally decided it was time for me to do it again. So far so good. I have not had any <span style="color: red;">š¬</span>, <span style="background-color: white; color: #bf9000;">š°</span>, <span style="color: orange;">šØ</span>, <span style="color: #ea9999;">šŖ</span>, <span style="color: #783f04;">š«</span>, etc. all week. I feel like I have been blessed because those things have surprisingly not been much of a temptation to me.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS_EsorcaXkcDS8D3IBiFvUhDBUe3-IZ01X75mIKsAgOXYltbef6aNJUqUJ1VvHyPT7t-m2SmDZamtQAWG68tQJhhoeAUptIny9MAld0KV9tlC_MFL7Yqf3MLFjCMJRVrcJLAk5M_sPw/s1600/IMG_5452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS_EsorcaXkcDS8D3IBiFvUhDBUe3-IZ01X75mIKsAgOXYltbef6aNJUqUJ1VvHyPT7t-m2SmDZamtQAWG68tQJhhoeAUptIny9MAld0KV9tlC_MFL7Yqf3MLFjCMJRVrcJLAk5M_sPw/s320/IMG_5452.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is the Tiwi mounted on the window.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday we went to Lancaster for Zone Conferences. We drove Sister Layton's old car down there and traded it out with another car that we drove back that some of the elders had which is going to be sold. Of course, the cars had Tiwi's in them so James had to really watch his p's & q's while he was driving. After lunch we gave all the elders and sisters new insurance cards to put in their cars. At the conclusion of Zone Conference, one elder had to view the defensive driving video. That evening we had dinner at Marie Calendar's with President & Sister Layton, Elder & Sister Richey, and three church service missionary couples who serve as housing inspectors. When we were getting ready to leave and just standing around visiting, this woman sitting at a nearby table asked me if we were going to church. I started talking to them and told them we were senior missionaries for our church. Her husband asked if the boys in black pants and white shirts belonged to us. I proudly said yes. They had a few questions and I told them what we did. They have been married 59 years and have 4 children, 7 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren who all live in Lancaster. They all go to church together each Sunday at a bible church. We told them they are very blessed to have all their family near them and they agreed. Hopefully, we spread some good will about Mormons. Then we went to a late movie at Blvd. Cinema in downtown Lancaster. The "blvd." is very nice with lots of trees and vertical parking in the center of the street. The movie theatre had $5 movies for seniors on Wednesday. The theatre had huge, leather recliners which were so comfortable. After the movie, a man on the street saw James open the car door for me and remarked to him, "What a gentleman!"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKMpgzb0IzXGllRW7QH9bPxh3bble2wT8hqcbOVZbe0BV0s3qTnIMFdgIZPzzdq4jUCI4ZatIeejC6C83zmNYG19yx5wJfxP2JI1fx6UleyF6qfDpEuKqV6ialdc6bI3ZScgnR13RlHM/s1600/IMG_5453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKMpgzb0IzXGllRW7QH9bPxh3bble2wT8hqcbOVZbe0BV0s3qTnIMFdgIZPzzdq4jUCI4ZatIeejC6C83zmNYG19yx5wJfxP2JI1fx6UleyF6qfDpEuKqV6ialdc6bI3ZScgnR13RlHM/s640/IMG_5453.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
President Layton told the missionaries that Elder Rasband and others have said there are three places where we are on <b><span style="color: red;">"holy ground"<span style="color: black;">;</span> temples<span style="color: black;">,</span> churches<span style="color: black;">,</span> and our homes</span></b>. He talked to them about keeping their apartments clean and organized so they can be a holy place and a place where they can feel the spirit. He reminded them that Elder Oaks taught that <b><i><span style="color: red;">"if we want to talk to God, we pray. If we want to listen to God, we read the scriptures."</span> </i></b>He also quoted Sister Beck, who was quoting someone else, <b><i><span style="color: red;">"Don't wallow in imperfections; starve the problems, feed the opportunities."</span></i></b> President Layton's main theme for the conference was how the "power of the word" can bless people and how they can access it. He talked about getting to<b> know</b> the Savior as opposed to just knowing who he is. He told them that the great book, "Jesus the Christ" by James E. Talmage was written in the Salt Lake Temple. He also told the missionaries that the first time he read the book when he was a young man, he struggled with the vocabulary in it. Now, he understands it better. Sister Layton talked about the Christ like attribute, <b>diligence</b>. She stressed we have a responsibility for our time (don't waste it and use it effectively) and a responsibility for our attitude (be positive, patient, and joyful). President Layton said he did the math and figured out the missionaries have 48 hours per week to proselyte and give service. He said he wants them to be accountable for those hours in their weekly letter to him so they will be more aware of how they use their time.<br />
<br />
We spent the night in Lancaster because Thursday we also attended the other Zone Conference so James could switch out the car and give out the new insurance cards. We left early at lunch time so we could eat at BJ's Restaurant and Brewery in Palmdale. Palmdale is just next door to Lancaster. We asked if Rob Roberts (they are the people we met at Disneyland last weekend that invited us to sit at their table) was working and were able to get seated in his area. A couple minutes after we sat down, Rob and his daughter came over looking kind of surprised, but pleased that we came. His daughter was on Spring Break and they didn't have a babysitter, so he brought her to work. She spotted us when we came in and told her dad. We had a nice lunch and a very attentive waiter. Before we left, we gave Rob a pass along card with our phone number and an invitation to have the missionaries come and teach his family how they can be an eternal family. We'll see what happens. Sophie has her Disneyland "diamond anniversary" ears on. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXFkqB-DTma1xzqYEEb_6QHEOA5Z8Y-7s7i1u4Rj0XGElF2k9YT-0BNn6VYLWuptrGmqEWIpg8ffqApYr3U9zh-WBbYV9VSDALXco2HZNqv5X3tO4j5fFkQC_TRHEBOpoODqCc93o_yM/s1600/IMG_5454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXFkqB-DTma1xzqYEEb_6QHEOA5Z8Y-7s7i1u4Rj0XGElF2k9YT-0BNn6VYLWuptrGmqEWIpg8ffqApYr3U9zh-WBbYV9VSDALXco2HZNqv5X3tO4j5fFkQC_TRHEBOpoODqCc93o_yM/s640/IMG_5454.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWdtVWhpet7L-FI4riLTS1GljHm2u-2HoZL0E7rwB1I57gHABw_u6N4oSXxC3CxgM9BN-jjOcatQXE-aowusxBy-W5P_Drq0k2KpR6pMoUSGfCD34LIJ5PYzvcbXop6r4hJyHr7flxJA/s1600/65BB6DD0-A3CB-43C9-858C-BADD9B510B47-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWdtVWhpet7L-FI4riLTS1GljHm2u-2HoZL0E7rwB1I57gHABw_u6N4oSXxC3CxgM9BN-jjOcatQXE-aowusxBy-W5P_Drq0k2KpR6pMoUSGfCD34LIJ5PYzvcbXop6r4hJyHr7flxJA/s400/65BB6DD0-A3CB-43C9-858C-BADD9B510B47-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The water heater at the mission office building broke and caused water damage in our office and the office next door. All of these boxes of Book of Mormons were in the closet where most of the damage was. Thankfully, the boxes were only a little water logged, but the books inside of them were okay. They had a restoration company come drill holes in the walls and extract water and dry it out with fans.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
On Saturday, James picked up Chris. He met his dad and sister and said they were very nice. Chris was just baptized a few weeks ago. James asked him how his dad was doing with his decision to join the church, and he said things were much better now. James took him to the mall to shop for Sunday clothes. They went to JC Penney's and got some good bargains. James got him two pairs of slacks, a suit jacket, a belt, and two white shirts. Then they had lunch. We have a box of ties at the office that someone donated some we took him three ties on Sunday. One of the missionaries showed him how to tie a tie. Chris looked very handsome blessing the sacrament and we think he felt good.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
We went to pick up Mary Vega so she could attend a baptism with us. Her baptism date is April. Elders Rowley and Hulet met us there to help get her wheelchair in the car. They told us she had fallen and hurt her hip and were also going to give her a blessing. She invited James to give her the blessing, and he gave her a beautiful blessing of healing. She said she had just gotten back from the hospital and was not feeling up to going. She also has dialysis Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and that takes a toll on her.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOON6E9Ux2IBeL9uYgc_I2DzAG0f-xlsWYipOmnnsmoK9TgunBQLwZH790rurVbAXM445DG-xprFsWxOGDI2ELgm_pSmeMKVdt4VpZZgmRk8vthKKS2kReBUc8m5R5U4F18rHJ8MowouQ/s1600/85A0624E-95D2-421D-A066-F130457C17B4-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOON6E9Ux2IBeL9uYgc_I2DzAG0f-xlsWYipOmnnsmoK9TgunBQLwZH790rurVbAXM445DG-xprFsWxOGDI2ELgm_pSmeMKVdt4VpZZgmRk8vthKKS2kReBUc8m5R5U4F18rHJ8MowouQ/s400/85A0624E-95D2-421D-A066-F130457C17B4-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyli with some of the young women from her ward who came to her baptism.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The baptism we went to was for Kyli Dudley, a fourteen year old girl. As part of the program after the talks and her baptism, Kyli shared her testimony and conversion story. She said she grew up in a nonreligious home, but knew about prayer and had faith. She was having a difficult time last summer and was praying for help and was trying to focus on the positive things in her life. Gavin, a friend from school, texted her and invited her to his church. She liked the way he acted joyous, so she went. She said she was thankful for her struggles because without them she wouldn't have found Christ. She said, "I felt comfort, gained faith, and became happy." We were surprised that she was only 14 because she was very articulate and mature. Her mother and grandmother attended.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHl66gPSp-aD358mVjhnu688hy_l1K-GLcDHWssAZPOOXtEeaCuugEbD60Qpokun-B67FlMs_597P4o-oHA2gvUb719uRUTtkrhMA77wybwKTufz3tIevix_rC0NRZ1V42GPJ5Ioyz00c/s1600/IMG_5464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHl66gPSp-aD358mVjhnu688hy_l1K-GLcDHWssAZPOOXtEeaCuugEbD60Qpokun-B67FlMs_597P4o-oHA2gvUb719uRUTtkrhMA77wybwKTufz3tIevix_rC0NRZ1V42GPJ5Ioyz00c/s320/IMG_5464.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
About a month ago we received the results of our DNA test that we did through My Heritage. The test kits came in pretty boxes. We swabbed the insides of our checks and sent them off. We had to wait about three months for the results. <b>Drum roll!!!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>James' ethnicities are: 48.2% Europe (40.7% Iberian from South Europe and 7.5% Scandinavian from North and West Europe), 38.5% Central American, and 13.3% Middle Eastern.</b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: magenta;">Alecia's ethnicities are: 96.2% Europe (7.1% Iberian from South Europe and 3.7% East European) and 3.8% Middle Eastern.</span></b><br />
We were both surprised about the Middle Eastern. Pretty interesting!<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-77553340761567136782017-03-19T19:40:00.002-07:002017-03-19T19:40:57.230-07:00Week of March 13 - 19<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUja6oLoYp0BfMvjWqx6X_O4lyYgJlqSykWJl7-dGkhRQ0xs7gtuqQCCmp6iJYkOU6CdWfKxuj-xuzXY3_ZwTLnvkQDOMiTCVygAZlWTVez9Gd6DR2nEnFxFx-1u3TDUIR8Zkyc5BbBpM/s1600/IMG_1563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUja6oLoYp0BfMvjWqx6X_O4lyYgJlqSykWJl7-dGkhRQ0xs7gtuqQCCmp6iJYkOU6CdWfKxuj-xuzXY3_ZwTLnvkQDOMiTCVygAZlWTVez9Gd6DR2nEnFxFx-1u3TDUIR8Zkyc5BbBpM/s320/IMG_1563.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Silly Sister Zambrano rescued a stray cat and apparently kept it in her apartment for about two months. The housing inspectors saw the litter box and asked about it. The secret was out of the bag. Sister Zambrano called James to have him call her mother to see when she could come pick the cat up. President Layton asked James if we could keep it for a few days. He said no, so Bob & Vicky Ritchie (the housing coordinators) took it home with them. The cat is in the travel case, but you can't see it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhQdoHYmL2DL3TSetFWe0Qb_F12R1g3O6UoVugotsYPetRoirvEW40-uv7OBgTkB2-umAfJ236-y_pn5QbHFIMCzOyDK-pX1jN1XLVlNMyDkgPS3DvFyb2_uKEwz2wm2sf0PMuss-8Go/s1600/IMG_5393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhQdoHYmL2DL3TSetFWe0Qb_F12R1g3O6UoVugotsYPetRoirvEW40-uv7OBgTkB2-umAfJ236-y_pn5QbHFIMCzOyDK-pX1jN1XLVlNMyDkgPS3DvFyb2_uKEwz2wm2sf0PMuss-8Go/s320/IMG_5393.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
James picked these pretty flowers for me off a bush at some apartment building where he was and brought them back to me at the office. What a nice surprise!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My sewing machine has gotten a workout lately. I took in the sides of Elder Olsen's 7 short sleeve, white shirts. He has lost some weight and didn't like how baggy they had become.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lTgyU9ix2nVJUxSFF8wscTud3LpExVdjD9kB7_8O17p-PjBlR-QCwMjXZSh6BatjScQJjD3VQQPyOyjl5Qx5GYMTz3c8PtJZZw1LSuCre0U2fErcSQ7cN_6mhD8LWiwTkqc2d5NbYYU/s1600/IMG_5402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lTgyU9ix2nVJUxSFF8wscTud3LpExVdjD9kB7_8O17p-PjBlR-QCwMjXZSh6BatjScQJjD3VQQPyOyjl5Qx5GYMTz3c8PtJZZw1LSuCre0U2fErcSQ7cN_6mhD8LWiwTkqc2d5NbYYU/s400/IMG_5402.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Friday during our staff meeting I asked President Layton what would be the appropriate attire for us at Disneyland. He said they were told that on their Friday night date and P-day to take off their name tags, wear their jeans, and get lost in the crowd. He said he often likes to wear his name tag because it gives him opportunities to talk to people. We were thankful for the clarification again because we always wrestle with that question. We came home about noon, changed our clothes, and grabbed our suitcase. We ate lunch at Too Fat Sandwiches before we left. It was a nice sandwich shop with painted murals on the walls and a bureau full of a pig collection. We found out later the restaurant is owned by Mormons. (You can see our reflections in the mirror.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3TMT6BK_pOWilL5WvRvqzAK9DRB4VbYwTZoYyHP6RdG23QX7KutY84GkuqJUbw-Z2360dLRJ6EC9hoQzOWqoWw-HJzVv2deQtr7INjAw2scN9KZawSX2n3L5ckB0ewFa7xXcyXMtQ8I/s1600/42294D1A-68D9-421C-94A3-214AB3288E7C-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3TMT6BK_pOWilL5WvRvqzAK9DRB4VbYwTZoYyHP6RdG23QX7KutY84GkuqJUbw-Z2360dLRJ6EC9hoQzOWqoWw-HJzVv2deQtr7INjAw2scN9KZawSX2n3L5ckB0ewFa7xXcyXMtQ8I/s640/42294D1A-68D9-421C-94A3-214AB3288E7C-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then we drove to Anaheim. Traffic was terrible when we got to the Los Angeles area. It took us two extra hours to get through it. We don't know how people can handle that everyday. Sometimes we were going five or ten miles per hour. When we got up to twenty miles per hour, we felt like we were speeding. We finally made it to our hotel by about 5:30 pm. The hotel was right next to a Disney parking lot, so we were able to just walk over there and get on the tram. We made it by the appointed time of 6:00 pm to meet Xyla, our granddaughter, at the front gate of Disneyland. She came to California on a four day trip with her school band. We were so excited to see her; she is the first family member we have seen in 8 1/2 months since we have been on our mission. We ate dinner with her at Rainforest CafƩ and caught up on all the news.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkukETny12iJc4lC4y1jAsgfNLgOUkX6C38voPtlpORue35ulgLVh2sgRokmre39eESsKhTIRLep2_DGkdhddNfH7-R0HsaObbDibIS1UqknAb_1UXKx0gsfEEkH62vV-bY-lT32TrgxY/s1600/054E3F8D-0743-44D8-9313-FC9DFE1E2C98-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkukETny12iJc4lC4y1jAsgfNLgOUkX6C38voPtlpORue35ulgLVh2sgRokmre39eESsKhTIRLep2_DGkdhddNfH7-R0HsaObbDibIS1UqknAb_1UXKx0gsfEEkH62vV-bY-lT32TrgxY/s640/054E3F8D-0743-44D8-9313-FC9DFE1E2C98-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That evening in our hotel room we heard what sounded like explosions and gun shot sounds. We opened the drapes and enjoyed the Disneyland fireworks.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmtvHJ7Wjsbjm4qrKw5cjj32rfTEKRlk_gbPAKrXwzoc4kO8W0CiQAAR13vEuOyEf9FgW2FsLI6R7jAsvCPEI4E44MQNqwMiX0cb5Xpxo8CMlK-SEgoIXZP72DWLlvhpJTi9CVBteKiY/s1600/6F75E343-A759-4563-A572-377285C2DF78-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmtvHJ7Wjsbjm4qrKw5cjj32rfTEKRlk_gbPAKrXwzoc4kO8W0CiQAAR13vEuOyEf9FgW2FsLI6R7jAsvCPEI4E44MQNqwMiX0cb5Xpxo8CMlK-SEgoIXZP72DWLlvhpJTi9CVBteKiY/s640/6F75E343-A759-4563-A572-377285C2DF78-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then on Saturday we entered the gates of "the happiest place on earth" and spent the day there. Disneyland really is a happy place. We did not see anyone fighting with each other. People love the music playing everywhere and skip, dance, sing, and move to the beat. Families are having a great time together. It was "the happiest place on earth" for us that day because we got to spend some of the day with Xyla. We saw the Sagewood Middle School Concert Band perform. They are really good. Xyla plays the flute.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVoUGGAPmlpvPIUQ0TBdsfvWvLUHNH5OrCpbJ9aDaFoC4Hj2PnLhIxGjW6vtayBRv8Rc4lrFv-Qb343686LakGfqjyxZEbp5_TeuEeZld7T1XRbq4XQouGI5ErNXpY5tLD836BiAIvvo/s1600/7FADD01E-0D72-47C5-BC77-800470653D72-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVoUGGAPmlpvPIUQ0TBdsfvWvLUHNH5OrCpbJ9aDaFoC4Hj2PnLhIxGjW6vtayBRv8Rc4lrFv-Qb343686LakGfqjyxZEbp5_TeuEeZld7T1XRbq4XQouGI5ErNXpY5tLD836BiAIvvo/s640/7FADD01E-0D72-47C5-BC77-800470653D72-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Xyla and her friends let the "grandparents" tag along with them. We enjoyed walking around and riding the rides with them. Our name tags did cause us to be noticed; after all we were the only people walking around with missionary name tags on. Mostly it was members of the church that said "hi" and introduced their selves. We met two different couples who had recently returned home from their missions; one to Hawaii and the other couple served in Australia. Another couple wanted their grandchildren to meet us. A missionary from their ward is serving in Parker, Colorado. A young man stopped us and said he had served his mission in Anaheim, but they were not allowed to go to Disneyland. We told him we were thankful that we have special privileges. We talked to another nice family that had a bunch of kids, some of which you could tell were adopted. The mother said they would make a good Mormon family and that many of her friends were Mormon. When we were standing around with our lunch trying to find a place to sit, a cute little girl came up to us and invited us to sit at their table because they had some extra chairs. We accepted and had a very nice visit with her and her mom and dad. We found out they live in Palmdale and the man works at BJ's Restaurant. Next week, we will be in Palmdale, so we hope to see him again. The man sitting next to us on the tram said his sister is a Mormon living in Florida and he is an Orthodox Christian.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoRjYj55WvbzM6KzMQdAUMLKcSZHuHycBiBiDO5DRJhVpsRzqtSmvNniYrDqydcewVRfuvCfbp6u6gdxJk11iNnABWwlZXkcSsUbbt_0R-Ydmq2krtPvDCKuQqpjm4ZdrmXe4T4HrGeY/s1600/DDE24B6D-FE13-4291-8D40-DA5CE7097562-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoRjYj55WvbzM6KzMQdAUMLKcSZHuHycBiBiDO5DRJhVpsRzqtSmvNniYrDqydcewVRfuvCfbp6u6gdxJk11iNnABWwlZXkcSsUbbt_0R-Ydmq2krtPvDCKuQqpjm4ZdrmXe4T4HrGeY/s640/DDE24B6D-FE13-4291-8D40-DA5CE7097562-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Sunday evening we had a very nice dinner at the Ball's apartment along with Matt and Patti Morris. (They are church service missionaries. Matt is the other half of the vehicle team and Patti does referrals and the monthly mission newsletter.) </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Our mission office got a face lift the last couple of months. The walls were painted and we received some new artwork and a new bulletin board. I fancied the bulletin boards up with borders. The baptism board represents some of the stories of the many people who have come unto Christ.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBDhAVSmzOZqklemekvO5kgDEccHP74zCON40I94kbWobnq9x0kAUpmlLThj0FpnCE5nqnX32DTBmI5qaduA5NcnJCp4C9jlb-MziX2nm3Jp231fB86TFnPfJ4kvIXHfIzWV-WMIBH54/s1600/F68C2FAC-071B-4F08-9416-3B8FE7254717-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBDhAVSmzOZqklemekvO5kgDEccHP74zCON40I94kbWobnq9x0kAUpmlLThj0FpnCE5nqnX32DTBmI5qaduA5NcnJCp4C9jlb-MziX2nm3Jp231fB86TFnPfJ4kvIXHfIzWV-WMIBH54/s640/F68C2FAC-071B-4F08-9416-3B8FE7254717-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
One of our missionaries pointed out that this painting of Christ's triumphal return to the earth looks like He is returning to Bakersfield. The landscape at the bottom of the picture looks very similar to the landscape around here. That was a very interesting observation!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV0wIOYw5aGUW99Iy_DxZfWJ0DFDsc4cpKtzv1pZgRP8OHlY3C2jpPxYJHSP_zV1eT2aBp9v40rOI0amKQDVIt8EgaP2aC2fPBBGEGDsAEZuQcTCWNPAEaadOyrerPZuBTDulD2a_7SQ/s1600/IMG_5338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV0wIOYw5aGUW99Iy_DxZfWJ0DFDsc4cpKtzv1pZgRP8OHlY3C2jpPxYJHSP_zV1eT2aBp9v40rOI0amKQDVIt8EgaP2aC2fPBBGEGDsAEZuQcTCWNPAEaadOyrerPZuBTDulD2a_7SQ/s640/IMG_5338.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-3685988674237432162017-03-12T16:13:00.001-07:002017-03-12T16:13:35.654-07:00Week of March 6 - 12<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our mission increased by 7 new elders (5 of them Spanish speaking) and l new sister on Monday. For lunch when they arrived, I made a big salad and we had a potato bar instead of pizza. I figured that pizza and salad costs about $3.75 per person compared to baked potatoes and salad at only about $1.65 per person. We also enjoyed having dinner with them in the evening at the mission home.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQddRFotCsFGnznHgxL0xN6e3FdpuK9uRKGH3QHRKevgNrbh4mD5ZrTbm_jGuoNwH1XOKeChYoK-pKwiMrK8xvWqCVJJnRmmhffpiTU9D64wsTB167JDxbpcL7EoVFtbp83jTSANP05I/s1600/102F9476-B446-4D9F-8B20-C99FA4277B69-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQddRFotCsFGnznHgxL0xN6e3FdpuK9uRKGH3QHRKevgNrbh4mD5ZrTbm_jGuoNwH1XOKeChYoK-pKwiMrK8xvWqCVJJnRmmhffpiTU9D64wsTB167JDxbpcL7EoVFtbp83jTSANP05I/s640/102F9476-B446-4D9F-8B20-C99FA4277B69-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Elder Cruz has only been in the country about five months from Mexico and does not know English very well, so James was translating for him. Elder Pena is from Columbia and has lived in Texas the last six months and can speak some English. James also showed the vehicle safety video and gave a presentation on driving safely. Elder Atkinson and Elder Cruz are assigned to our ward.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyALiRupdEvrk496lDx1G_8oF_vi8YInU436jKB26f51dKHC-s3UOOwKyC-FqQUq0-QdNbL2SIqWaVPa-kaE-4M7YfnFYcFw_hQrQF-Qdn1I7oOOQOpMFbrnkXtSoUyUUyTM-xo5C8hmY/s1600/missionaries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyALiRupdEvrk496lDx1G_8oF_vi8YInU436jKB26f51dKHC-s3UOOwKyC-FqQUq0-QdNbL2SIqWaVPa-kaE-4M7YfnFYcFw_hQrQF-Qdn1I7oOOQOpMFbrnkXtSoUyUUyTM-xo5C8hmY/s640/missionaries.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
Elder Chamberlain, President and Sister Layton, Elder Atkinson, Elder Cruz<br />
Elder Stewart, Elder Rindlisbacher, Sister McMinn, Elder Pena, Elder Thomson<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Tuesday the two sisters, Sister Newhouse (or Sister "Old Shack" as some people like to tease her) and Sister Romero who have completed their missions had their departing interviews and instructions. Then we, the Balls, and the Laytons had a repeat lunch with them like the day before. They flew home early the next morning.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mario, from our ward, called James crying and upset because the CPS had taken his little seven year old sister and fifteen year old brother from his mother. They live in Oxnard, California and his sister had called him crying pleading with him to save her. What a tear jerker! He had been on the phone all day with other family members who are all fighting among themselves and the case worker trying to see what she can do. Mario called again later and we went over to his house to talk to him and James gave him a blessing.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On our afternoon off on Thursday we bought a new mini fridge for the office since we apparently ruined the other one. Ever since we came, the tiny little freezer compartment was caked in about five inches of solid ice. When we were chipping the ice off, we made a hole that let all the Freon out. So now we have a nice, new fridge. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then we went on a teaching appointment with Elders Rowley and Hulett to visit Mary Vega. She grew up in McFarland and ran track for a couple years with Coach White (McFarland USA coach). We also found out that Cesar Chavez was her godfather. She is an older woman that uses a wheel-chair. Her electric wheelchair had been at the shop for repairs for sometime because she could not afford to pay for it. We found out where it was and went and paid for it anonymously. Mary was very surprised that someone would do that. She said she had been praying for an angel to help her. She attended church Sunday and said she really liked it and would be back.<br />
<br />
We enjoyed the beautiful day on Saturday sitting outside by a pretty fountain sharing a chocolate banana shake. We also went to the movie, "The Shack". It had a lot of good messages in it about our relationship with God (he was called "Papa" in the movie) and Jesus including; we don't have to do it alone, we can turn to them, forgiveness, and getting rid of guilt. I liked when "Papa" said, "Anything is possible when everything is possible".<br />
<br />
The last couple of weeks we have gotten more new Toyota Corollas for the missionaries. President Layton called Salt Lake and told them he did not want them to send us any more Chevy Malibu's. As a matter of fact, he asked them if they can trade our Malibu's out with some other mission for Corollas. He thinks the Malibu's are too fancy for our missionaries to be driving because there are many poorer areas here and they don't fit in very well.<br />
<br />
Scattered around downtown Bakersfield you see these power boxes on some of the corners that have been painted and look so pretty. It is much better than just leaving them in their natural gray metal state.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtlDzbZTEJE76I_PgJT2kg_zn9ZqaR3_E4q8AbkqvfbGO4IszoGgzIJBBYwp3hbfWJpanoHg9oSGFWNOvOXYJeIFsEsBruBFZP7fJMB-hzzpxNnVX_65sYldebN8qoDyLk28hlFoHmrA/s1600/5065C561-6AA4-4CCE-A4D0-9C416840A95A-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtlDzbZTEJE76I_PgJT2kg_zn9ZqaR3_E4q8AbkqvfbGO4IszoGgzIJBBYwp3hbfWJpanoHg9oSGFWNOvOXYJeIFsEsBruBFZP7fJMB-hzzpxNnVX_65sYldebN8qoDyLk28hlFoHmrA/s640/5065C561-6AA4-4CCE-A4D0-9C416840A95A-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00az0ng8X89XYDlQ7NVKtEcnbSQ7WtADNr59G6b5udCkqQJbHyZOF8H4NfsOu0KX1I-9tYrogLcZvZm8wC5muifxwXekIoFb3K4u0vo_DnZ6AqMnp-Ex5WTjQJ2Zkz_4IUNQ6Q0Ef3Zc/s1600/4C0C67D9-D6C3-4C3C-9465-CEE194620B6E-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00az0ng8X89XYDlQ7NVKtEcnbSQ7WtADNr59G6b5udCkqQJbHyZOF8H4NfsOu0KX1I-9tYrogLcZvZm8wC5muifxwXekIoFb3K4u0vo_DnZ6AqMnp-Ex5WTjQJ2Zkz_4IUNQ6Q0Ef3Zc/s640/4C0C67D9-D6C3-4C3C-9465-CEE194620B6E-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-12304995738219967582017-03-05T21:48:00.001-08:002017-03-08T07:43:59.120-08:00Week of February 27 - March 5<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tuesday morning we joined some other members of our ward at the Bakersfield airport to send off Wesley Schmidt with well wishes. He is flying to the Provo MTC to start his mission, and has been called to the Tacoma Washington Mission. Wesley is a well prepared, twenty year old young man who has been diligently working hard toward this day for over two years. He was told he couldn't go on a mission because he weighed too much, so he worked hard to loose the weight. His mom and dad are divorced and his dad has cancer and probably won't live too much longer. His dad lives in Utah and Wesley recently went to visit him and say his goodbyes. Last Saturday, I hemmed six pairs of slacks and a pair of workout pants for him. He is quite short and can't buy pants the right length to fit him. This is his first time flying also, so he was kind of nervous and excited about that. Both Wesley and his mom were overwhelmed and got tears in their eyes when we told them we were going to put money into his mission account each month to help him. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAb0mzvK_PDZwqy-OTjD0fDcEjc27eXpGH9n3aaDEmZ0Fsb01FWCJV0vxKfxTo_DXU160f0SupCxVEjdffmZyF3HzBe9SRG0B5gi6RHEXLsZTJnFAcbzednPTGrXr3d9z0PyD2krDB5Gg/s1600/IMG_1520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAb0mzvK_PDZwqy-OTjD0fDcEjc27eXpGH9n3aaDEmZ0Fsb01FWCJV0vxKfxTo_DXU160f0SupCxVEjdffmZyF3HzBe9SRG0B5gi6RHEXLsZTJnFAcbzednPTGrXr3d9z0PyD2krDB5Gg/s320/IMG_1520.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpoiRdmKKNmYrS0k773NElRYth3u4b7bzFbwmvqOh3ESoghgUxySrNBI8u6i8aW1zbV-gtXBZ9KPzbOReLIXsORIjm3U0Z-5Kkz0DjDO4z37op0_kTtIoNDadjWcwf5Co-3qjnpXoIss/s1600/IMG_5340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpoiRdmKKNmYrS0k773NElRYth3u4b7bzFbwmvqOh3ESoghgUxySrNBI8u6i8aW1zbV-gtXBZ9KPzbOReLIXsORIjm3U0Z-5Kkz0DjDO4z37op0_kTtIoNDadjWcwf5Co-3qjnpXoIss/s400/IMG_5340.JPG" width="300" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiQmJKeQPYMywouxwEa4Spf3D2zx6FLbJvPat2BujPI-PmlRaav0pV4ytt15hSOpHWvfmiY2NpbYrKjpHVqb5zj0Vu1bHnG4kU0ILbs9AwyPw2fXtGWRyb6X5qvL_SyWiko9ETiFo2bg/s1600/IMG_1520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another sweet missionary, Elder Beckstead, was released to go home to get better. He has been sick for weeks and not able to keep food down. He was trying to tough it out and not let anyone know. He has been on his mission since September. He left most of his belongings here and is planning to come back soon. Even though he doesn't feel well, he always has a smile on his face.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKc7uH7KMkq9c9PbP5TWtdUoakAVLJLL70_w3hjEXaAsZT3ZZGZrhFCbnr07_6VOR0bc8vrAVvd0JwT44u_L9XNM6hSdTN_jtS9zv1crkkRjm0myTTa-xPHShON2Yct4LL0oAsxQT9Jk/s1600/IMG_1527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKc7uH7KMkq9c9PbP5TWtdUoakAVLJLL70_w3hjEXaAsZT3ZZGZrhFCbnr07_6VOR0bc8vrAVvd0JwT44u_L9XNM6hSdTN_jtS9zv1crkkRjm0myTTa-xPHShON2Yct4LL0oAsxQT9Jk/s640/IMG_1527.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
James finally received his new glasses in the mail the other day from the VA. He has been anxiously waiting for about three and a half months. Can you tell which pair of glasses are the new ones? *<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONfSuxUWzl11NFWC2XUqEtoQ0tHc0DLhtZ6vNYIazCGYxH5SfahvJeJtV1Y-BeFlcYTO1jtQ9hIotteCmqPsGeMyyXCNtV_i8X19OAY_dzSh-ZZ32HqYophNdnmj3KNX6i_QgzrO8zjQ/s1600/7220B6CB-D5BF-4553-B2A7-589D1E16BA58-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONfSuxUWzl11NFWC2XUqEtoQ0tHc0DLhtZ6vNYIazCGYxH5SfahvJeJtV1Y-BeFlcYTO1jtQ9hIotteCmqPsGeMyyXCNtV_i8X19OAY_dzSh-ZZ32HqYophNdnmj3KNX6i_QgzrO8zjQ/s400/7220B6CB-D5BF-4553-B2A7-589D1E16BA58-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I finished the 30 day challenge again! I swore I would never do it a second time, but for some reason I did. The last day was 50 dips, 150 squats, 120 sec plank, 150 crunches, 50 pushups, 50 burgees, and I finished in 21 minutes, 2 minutes faster than the first time. Hallelujah!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thursday we went to BYU vs CSU baseball game in Bakersfield. BYU lost 4 to 5. Elder Larsen called James during the game because that was about as close as he could get to the game. He played for BYU before his mission and hopes to again when he is released. He asked President Layton if they could attend, but the answer was no.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Friday night we had another potluck dinner at the mission home with President and Sister Layton and the mission staff. President Layton shared three wonderful experiences some missionaries shared in their weekly letter to him. He reads each of the letters from the missionaries every week and responds to them all. That is quite a feat! We learned that Sister Layton is usually the driver as they go to Zone Conferences, meetings, and interviews all over the mission. President Layton has a laptop desk that he puts his computer on and works while his wife drives. We also learned that while her husband is having interviews, Sister Layton teaches their companions and the other missionaries that are waiting how to polish and shine their shoes (elders) and how to apply makeup (sisters). Also, President Layton told us the sad and interesting fact that probably five missionaries in his eight months as president have gotten the news that their parents are divorcing. It is rough on them.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p3iULcV2nhqshDoazIiW4RTzn2Cbs4KLKmxgXtlGRqYoXzJylYi1qk3NW1NFC6XoeJ1xb2nojxipSgk1X6bs1WO3oK0WJpxVwdgTSGoRMmLvkiaYESsKDZ_WHqaFVXOxKKrRIrbfaws/s1600/IMG_5346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p3iULcV2nhqshDoazIiW4RTzn2Cbs4KLKmxgXtlGRqYoXzJylYi1qk3NW1NFC6XoeJ1xb2nojxipSgk1X6bs1WO3oK0WJpxVwdgTSGoRMmLvkiaYESsKDZ_WHqaFVXOxKKrRIrbfaws/s1600/IMG_5346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p3iULcV2nhqshDoazIiW4RTzn2Cbs4KLKmxgXtlGRqYoXzJylYi1qk3NW1NFC6XoeJ1xb2nojxipSgk1X6bs1WO3oK0WJpxVwdgTSGoRMmLvkiaYESsKDZ_WHqaFVXOxKKrRIrbfaws/s400/IMG_5346.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our stake center was a busy place Saturday afternoon and evening. There were nine baptisms one after the other; four converts and five 8 year old Primary children. We attended the baptisms of three different teenagers. This is Emma Gillian (18). She was first on the program and told a little about her conversion and bore her testimony. She first went to church with a friend when she was 14. A couple years later she had some kind of accident that put her in a wheelchair and the Relief Society came to the aid of her family. She said over the years she has had the help and support of many members and missionaries.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sister Seiuli and Sister Isom are in the photo with Emma.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDkDNJhwRZgL_O_p2x2s-v3WWDk-9V9CuCLzd0o3ySwaGLyBtB2emjgsKDjvnZIodHT1nM7fkLihXeah7EGUjrzifW4yBUgNhFJGPWMn1QDb8JQAm41kVJ_bS3n6Lue8Uc7l5DKuf_v0/s1600/IMG_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDkDNJhwRZgL_O_p2x2s-v3WWDk-9V9CuCLzd0o3ySwaGLyBtB2emjgsKDjvnZIodHT1nM7fkLihXeah7EGUjrzifW4yBUgNhFJGPWMn1QDb8JQAm41kVJ_bS3n6Lue8Uc7l5DKuf_v0/s400/IMG_1534.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Then Chris Ocegueda (18) from our ward was baptized. He wanted to be baptized over a year ago, but his dad wouldn't allow it and his baptism was cancelled. Other than his dad (who is not around much) his family is happy about his decision, but they did not attend his baptism. We picked him up and took him home after. Some of the young men from the ward gave the prayers and talks and the young women participated in a musical number, "A Child's Prayer". Chris is a senior in high school and a great guy. He is going to study culinary arts in college, and serve a mission in about a year.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elder Rowley, Chris, and Elder Crane make a handsome trio.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDkDNJhwRZgL_O_p2x2s-v3WWDk-9V9CuCLzd0o3ySwaGLyBtB2emjgsKDjvnZIodHT1nM7fkLihXeah7EGUjrzifW4yBUgNhFJGPWMn1QDb8JQAm41kVJ_bS3n6Lue8Uc7l5DKuf_v0/s1600/IMG_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDkDNJhwRZgL_O_p2x2s-v3WWDk-9V9CuCLzd0o3ySwaGLyBtB2emjgsKDjvnZIodHT1nM7fkLihXeah7EGUjrzifW4yBUgNhFJGPWMn1QDb8JQAm41kVJ_bS3n6Lue8Uc7l5DKuf_v0/s1600/IMG_1534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tyehQvpJiXBeo8Z7jxOctmwBIGVRB5vp-dzjzSibf1s-2aBgr305Jr96b6UD5zE0nRFAjEmPg6n7E8foIGuY62LIAVSh1neSk-Nu0HtvAFxmE9UyPmpArzUSRGFliUw54CzLx3fwSyM/s1600/IMG_1542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tyehQvpJiXBeo8Z7jxOctmwBIGVRB5vp-dzjzSibf1s-2aBgr305Jr96b6UD5zE0nRFAjEmPg6n7E8foIGuY62LIAVSh1neSk-Nu0HtvAFxmE9UyPmpArzUSRGFliUw54CzLx3fwSyM/s640/IMG_1542.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAUUa5Dnr8b5mC9Yha3mVx88iuu9pk3LVAlvWIh4rgK3sdzkFJwu-gcJ7H4mPqQYz1WvSmdvcR9jybqxcAfthEvyhSkE82Md7U5fn99eh3fUp6TeWNQ6JNrEskiNLXGYk-1mpyww0h9k/s1600/IMG_1543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAUUa5Dnr8b5mC9Yha3mVx88iuu9pk3LVAlvWIh4rgK3sdzkFJwu-gcJ7H4mPqQYz1WvSmdvcR9jybqxcAfthEvyhSkE82Md7U5fn99eh3fUp6TeWNQ6JNrEskiNLXGYk-1mpyww0h9k/s1600/IMG_1543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxAUUa5Dnr8b5mC9Yha3mVx88iuu9pk3LVAlvWIh4rgK3sdzkFJwu-gcJ7H4mPqQYz1WvSmdvcR9jybqxcAfthEvyhSkE82Md7U5fn99eh3fUp6TeWNQ6JNrEskiNLXGYk-1mpyww0h9k/s400/IMG_1543.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chris said he wanted to stay for the next baptism, so we did. Megan Posada (17) was baptized. She has been living with her uncle and aunt, who are members of the church. The missionaries told us that at first she told them she was an atheist and didn't want to listen to their message. Over time, her heart softened and she came to know that there is a God, our Heavenly Father, and His son, Jesus Christ, sacrificed His life for her. She was so excited to be baptized!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here Megan is with Sister Newhouse and Sister Kuang.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Guess where those "Wonderful Pistachios" that we all love come from? Yep, you are right - good, old Bakersfield is the place. It was back in 2007 when they first arrived in Safeway stores. Now they are everywhere. We even have some in our pantry.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_Woe_gORLGjJHGhAO8RVvbDHuVRBP1gqVvIpzb47u3lStN6ZaQfdXNDCeCsOtToojcPYqMxnM56y5q3f3RwcUmFsZRdy3roMY6BHvvnidGjWoutfzf-cN4805Fc6xaFR1F_aBZdIHE0/s1600/IMG_5099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_Woe_gORLGjJHGhAO8RVvbDHuVRBP1gqVvIpzb47u3lStN6ZaQfdXNDCeCsOtToojcPYqMxnM56y5q3f3RwcUmFsZRdy3roMY6BHvvnidGjWoutfzf-cN4805Fc6xaFR1F_aBZdIHE0/s400/IMG_5099.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;">(*on the right)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiQmJKeQPYMywouxwEa4Spf3D2zx6FLbJvPat2BujPI-PmlRaav0pV4ytt15hSOpHWvfmiY2NpbYrKjpHVqb5zj0Vu1bHnG4kU0ILbs9AwyPw2fXtGWRyb6X5qvL_SyWiko9ETiFo2bg/s1600/IMG_1520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-60734154133777138732017-02-26T17:44:00.002-08:002017-02-26T17:44:43.787-08:00Week of February 20 - 26<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elder Egbers broke his leg down near his ankle a week ago on P-day playing some kind of game. He just came down on his foot wrong. He will have to be off his foot for six weeks or more, so he was sent home to heal. He is planning on coming back to finish the last part of his mission. We found out something interesting. If he had broken his leg a week later, he would have been sent home honorable released from his mission and not be able to return. Apparently, if you have been out eighteen months or longer and get hurt or become sick and have to go home, you don't come back again. Elder Egbers six weeks at home will be counted as part of his mission time and he will be released on his original release date.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I went to lunch on Tuesday with Ingrid Ball and Lynette Thomas (one of the mission housing inspectors) at the Guild House Restaurant. It is a non-profit, all volunteer operated restaurant that benefits children and families of Kern County through mental health counseling and other services. It was a very, fancy gourmet lunch in a beautiful old house built in 1909.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqfh8PsVpfxB2_RdlRdluB3Oo9JyTwDHNOhyuRjJf5WVyMcqi5SC4x4M0y8P8to4JzgB_HJ8dvimBT1s72QEWlvUCv6V4Hn-wTd61K75JNH-r60-EwGnjsofhyxOcf8VLJ9HPlNCrEMQ/s1600/D66B080E-0589-47CE-AB2B-7AA6F9E50F6A-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdqfh8PsVpfxB2_RdlRdluB3Oo9JyTwDHNOhyuRjJf5WVyMcqi5SC4x4M0y8P8to4JzgB_HJ8dvimBT1s72QEWlvUCv6V4Hn-wTd61K75JNH-r60-EwGnjsofhyxOcf8VLJ9HPlNCrEMQ/s640/D66B080E-0589-47CE-AB2B-7AA6F9E50F6A-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
That evening James went visiting with Bishop Butler. They visited several investigators and their families. One of them is Chris who is a senior in high school and his mother. His mother was investigating the church a couple years ago, but then she got cancer and was going through the treatments and was too weak to continue visiting with the missionaries. She is in remission now and they are both planning to be to church on Sunday. Actually, Chris was going to be baptized but the day before his dad said no. Now Chris is eighteen and has committed to being baptized next Saturday. Another was a newly married couple who just moved into the ward. The Bishop used to teach Gabriela in Seminary, but then she became inactive. Her husband who is a nonmember said they would try to be to church on Sunday. They also had two short visits at the doors because it was getting late and they had to get their kids to bed.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The last few weeks I have been working on organizing the "Secretary's Manual" and writing instruction pages for the different responsibilities the mission secretary does. I wish I had had this information when I came to Bakersfield. I think it will be helpful to the people who come after us. James is also writing a step by step procedure for the vehicle coordinator to follow.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugpZrEh2D4PSWcFXyVaESG_Ad318oRvfNFsjUY0CXlZZCxlEGUsBR7uZJWj4JsGzwaWocjHInYjUm2pC2fmxFdXEhfmpAqN-vz7ywz6JX2DdCW3DJaK6AkxK5X4bJi6KdDuZxPFGtT-4/s1600/IMG_5273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByjS1JZLM_k52Mnx-KPZcO2UWK9JFP9kXMZdlrCb9IHzFIveOKGrE7t9wQzuneWTgQBrP6WzSpSLuVcxiDqX1ZPMLUfutSb3pTf93L7laea2GLd6hNGX2ZKJgRU_8Q1UlJekrccQP5cs/s1600/6EBF5138-D3B5-429D-BE02-03F106286643-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByjS1JZLM_k52Mnx-KPZcO2UWK9JFP9kXMZdlrCb9IHzFIveOKGrE7t9wQzuneWTgQBrP6WzSpSLuVcxiDqX1ZPMLUfutSb3pTf93L7laea2GLd6hNGX2ZKJgRU_8Q1UlJekrccQP5cs/s640/6EBF5138-D3B5-429D-BE02-03F106286643-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: red;">One of my gifts that the Lord has given me is organization and I really like it. I was thinking about what other gifts I have been given and I came up with planning, observant, a listening ear, a discerning eye, and a mind and heart that forgets and forgives and does not hold grudges. <br />James's gifts are a loving heart for everyone, problem solver, organizer (especially in his mind), kind motivator, good bilingual communicator with anyone and everyone, and has the ability to make concepts and principles understandable.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAb5W8gX5fLBPCz2DNdF3zcyfAZPBaUVduWC5UeXb0FDqXZq-XjAm_cR3N6tSH2yCjePChptqChBp48uv9-eum3CLaDwYyBHRJXAvLxRqK9Q0AN8ZdqtGN5dVM4RSN9g9WxsqtA4691s/s1600/IMG_5304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAb5W8gX5fLBPCz2DNdF3zcyfAZPBaUVduWC5UeXb0FDqXZq-XjAm_cR3N6tSH2yCjePChptqChBp48uv9-eum3CLaDwYyBHRJXAvLxRqK9Q0AN8ZdqtGN5dVM4RSN9g9WxsqtA4691s/s400/IMG_5304.JPG" width="300" /></a>Friday we went to the Los Angeles Temple to be there with President and Sister Layton and our two departing sisters, Sister Romero and Sister Newhouse. There were a bunch of departing missionaries from the San Fernando Mission attending also. We all enjoyed a late lunch in the temple cafeteria before we left.<br />
One of the temple worker ladies looked so familiar to me, but I couldn't think from where. Then I asked her what her maiden name was and discovered I graduated from high school with her; Maile Roberts. We only had a moment to talk, but I found out she lives in Bakersfield. James was talking to her husband who was at the desk on our way in. He said they used to live in Sedalia, CO. We are looking forward to getting together with them sometime here in Bakersfield. The two houses we own in Logan are next door to the house she lived in. Her brother, Roland, also graduated with us, and her older brother, Brent, was James' friend. Small world!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2Ot9rAOT5l5qRVdwLALyyxGZ5cF-cbolmeDsxZ4boVjURpK7iv8KKenAr19ZayO5jHmtocP-qM_zV5mrpfJYOJPc_xLfWbX2zVajdJpN4hR7lSUzz1OK1rjShWGVx9l1tymra579KjI/s1600/3DF0F28D-716D-4B3D-8A5C-6935DACBFA73-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2Ot9rAOT5l5qRVdwLALyyxGZ5cF-cbolmeDsxZ4boVjURpK7iv8KKenAr19ZayO5jHmtocP-qM_zV5mrpfJYOJPc_xLfWbX2zVajdJpN4hR7lSUzz1OK1rjShWGVx9l1tymra579KjI/s400/3DF0F28D-716D-4B3D-8A5C-6935DACBFA73-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a>James and I stopped at The Getty Center which is on a hilltop overlooking Los Angeles just two or three exits from the temple. It is a huge complex that includes the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute. We only had about two and a half hours to explore before it closed at 5:30, but you could spend much longer there. It is all free with a $15.00 charge for parking. You park and get on a tram which takes you up the hill to the center.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Everywhere you look is inspiration and beauty. The architecture of the buildings is amazing in itself. The stone is travertine that comes from Italy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTHX9_lLYg8RkFcejuacsnddzCWFdK6bV4gqZ4Jso7TZ7SJ7roavil0Q4Ko4NbrsBrpXzCouaCqmwPmqShUr7YkiSZQwbhQAatrfx0YoNKRWHIPlJhlwiQlgY6uwmbYGFdRg8WHwUiq4/s1600/1016EB0D-A869-4520-B8A6-0BD0E26CA7F9-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTHX9_lLYg8RkFcejuacsnddzCWFdK6bV4gqZ4Jso7TZ7SJ7roavil0Q4Ko4NbrsBrpXzCouaCqmwPmqShUr7YkiSZQwbhQAatrfx0YoNKRWHIPlJhlwiQlgY6uwmbYGFdRg8WHwUiq4/s640/1016EB0D-A869-4520-B8A6-0BD0E26CA7F9-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The views are spectacular. You can see all of the Los Angeles area and even the ocean.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXeYVq4z3xOknYQk_S8IfoEElGfR-5LjgF0i1aYxyshqWWwbbQ3gPeWhGydTe6Kyav1azFdGOJaq7wmirf1cx7ALvZcM0z5-efQOJKT91ljJ6skkf6FVudPxAf127FcDcWbaKq9jrCwA/s1600/EE2858BC-5145-4D17-8DB0-85CD46E13F89-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXeYVq4z3xOknYQk_S8IfoEElGfR-5LjgF0i1aYxyshqWWwbbQ3gPeWhGydTe6Kyav1azFdGOJaq7wmirf1cx7ALvZcM0z5-efQOJKT91ljJ6skkf6FVudPxAf127FcDcWbaKq9jrCwA/s640/EE2858BC-5145-4D17-8DB0-85CD46E13F89-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The gardens and outdoor landscape is beautiful also.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWv8Gj0U7TYVS0fGhVrl_OP_T5qqtdKuyHG5NNGhM60iWs7o-mPdIdSiK-GOaTHKJFp2g7ZuhRafouZDrry3hf6qcCNPpvgio3fDAXS9bwtSI0AU0VtutLux_OGSlsJWElyiiWgRybfY/s1600/F863316C-D10C-4FFB-82B2-B12059A5B25F-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWv8Gj0U7TYVS0fGhVrl_OP_T5qqtdKuyHG5NNGhM60iWs7o-mPdIdSiK-GOaTHKJFp2g7ZuhRafouZDrry3hf6qcCNPpvgio3fDAXS9bwtSI0AU0VtutLux_OGSlsJWElyiiWgRybfY/s400/F863316C-D10C-4FFB-82B2-B12059A5B25F-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The galleries are full of sculpture, decorative arts, manuscripts, antiquities, drawings, and paintings. Even we, who are not very savvy in the arts, recognized many famous names. The two paintings below are by Von Gogh; "Haystacks" and "Irises". Below those is a portrait painting by Renoir and the sculpture, "The Sleeping Faun" by Bouchardon, who was a royal artist of the enlightenment. Bouchardon's art was a special exhibit on loan from the Louvre Museum.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5qGtEgujWcWrAv5M9DvqBwuBpkDaI5_rUBP8nT_6roQKMe9WxbSdiTkfZjYKaeb-dB1bJwMUcCN8KmZHNka6Y04AteXqpSyF2lRc2nzQ_Zl62c4aC07BoQeXSY8qXIuW0fnbd60DVUQ/s1600/2735176B-4EFA-4F97-BCD9-14C7F08BB644-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5qGtEgujWcWrAv5M9DvqBwuBpkDaI5_rUBP8nT_6roQKMe9WxbSdiTkfZjYKaeb-dB1bJwMUcCN8KmZHNka6Y04AteXqpSyF2lRc2nzQ_Zl62c4aC07BoQeXSY8qXIuW0fnbd60DVUQ/s640/2735176B-4EFA-4F97-BCD9-14C7F08BB644-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Saturday evening we went to two baptisms from the same ward; Carl Christopher a 50+year old man and Chase Powers, a 9 year old boy. Chase has severe hydrophobia, a real fear of water. After two attempts, they decided to wait till after the program was over and most of the people had gone. Then we heard he did just fine.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The other day we drove past the almond orchards and it looked like a beautiful field of white as far as you could see. It was sad to see quite a few trees down. The roots are pretty shallow and we had some very windy days recently that took a toll on the trees. Even though <i>"the field is white"</i> it will not be ready to <i>"harvest"</i> until the fall. (<i>D&C 4:4, John 4:35, Alma 26:5</i>)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CD5Gv3vU_XpAu6rwGpj2EVGJJoR61k80OYvoE1l9S8LbneNGjRcs4as_8OYawT1hWGtox7eggr-I76_uv6hNoUuoCvQEoBwMlXWg83T-yN_3UWcEe2FCAGs5oNi568j6aL0l4VbanDw/s1600/A601AE54-D913-4CE2-AF54-4A095C9C2C5E-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CD5Gv3vU_XpAu6rwGpj2EVGJJoR61k80OYvoE1l9S8LbneNGjRcs4as_8OYawT1hWGtox7eggr-I76_uv6hNoUuoCvQEoBwMlXWg83T-yN_3UWcEe2FCAGs5oNi568j6aL0l4VbanDw/s640/A601AE54-D913-4CE2-AF54-4A095C9C2C5E-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A couple weeks ago the white blossomed trees (not the almond trees) were blooming and now the <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>pink</b></span> blossoming trees are so pretty. It seems like there is always some kind of tree, bush, or flower in bloom around Bakersfield year round. It is very nice!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBe8iIo8y2ob-Rfg-kvJjyQeE5LSkwx2r1a9PIyxp0An7QfL-GV_z4w5Zk72yk38Stvnu9bj1PEKKVSzJNUvS3VODQ2PJHm6EHUU6qheEvN88vbGyC-1s7JOvFXIOzqVZ6pDcRpBHH6I/s1600/22604E0B-309B-42DD-81E5-B37FACD5C0A7-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBe8iIo8y2ob-Rfg-kvJjyQeE5LSkwx2r1a9PIyxp0An7QfL-GV_z4w5Zk72yk38Stvnu9bj1PEKKVSzJNUvS3VODQ2PJHm6EHUU6qheEvN88vbGyC-1s7JOvFXIOzqVZ6pDcRpBHH6I/s640/22604E0B-309B-42DD-81E5-B37FACD5C0A7-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-71874219198638656292017-02-19T17:06:00.000-08:002017-06-01T13:06:50.513-07:00Week of February 13 - 19 (Valentine's Day)<div style="text-align: center;">
We were pleasantly surprised Monday morning when we showed up to the mission office and saw that we had been "<span style="color: red;">heart attacked</span>". </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QyH3ALgttX1zQYvQCQllMmlzryWtxw_op3NAAxEgRlk-qlpdPn5z6ZMsAfxe9hDGnA7Ax0Ha2nFqAGQxM4yuV0YjNtCVe5DnroD4GVK9Wl2vS0dwWYbM5c1xZ_TswHnrUnyaccVfA6c/s1600/IMG_1472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QyH3ALgttX1zQYvQCQllMmlzryWtxw_op3NAAxEgRlk-qlpdPn5z6ZMsAfxe9hDGnA7Ax0Ha2nFqAGQxM4yuV0YjNtCVe5DnroD4GVK9Wl2vS0dwWYbM5c1xZ_TswHnrUnyaccVfA6c/s640/IMG_1472.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Everybody loves a good <span style="color: red;"><i><b>love story</b></i></span>, so here is one. Sky Holmgren and Jesse Holmstead both served their missions in the California Bakersfield Mission. He went home on November 17, 2016 and she left on December 28, 2016. They both secretly liked each other while on their missions, but kept it to themselves. They started dating in January 2017. He proposed down on his knee by the fountain at the Provo City Temple last week. They are getting married May 26, 2017. How sweet! We are all so excited for them!<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJMMboC7j2isw-zBUC5ixJ2CP9v0qMZTf6zUeQSr4c2diyyArb3dQHJelY3LClCnLjs7RLxo3-wWkvfNvYe_uEKETv1uCvUI6vOywRugq6fMmv4tf132ROIbZtq1DfCoP2ejLUI59AjM/s1600/IMG_5245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJMMboC7j2isw-zBUC5ixJ2CP9v0qMZTf6zUeQSr4c2diyyArb3dQHJelY3LClCnLjs7RLxo3-wWkvfNvYe_uEKETv1uCvUI6vOywRugq6fMmv4tf132ROIbZtq1DfCoP2ejLUI59AjM/s400/IMG_5245.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We went to Zone Conference in Palmdale on Wednesday and in Lancaster on Thursday. Palmdale and Lancaster are about an hour and a half from Bakersfield, but only about 10 or 15 miles apart. We spent Wednesday night in a hotel so we wouldn't have to drive back and forth. James had a little time at each Zone Conference to instruct the missionaries in driving safety. Then we all went out to the parking lot and James demonstrated how <u>not</u> to back out of a parking space. He said it was kind of fun running over the cones and poles. Then they talked about the proper way to back out and be safe.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkGmWehHuhgFzczq-yR0R_bVZe9YQHAE1kdCQeXNS1As1xaECR5gmLdhrtqTFrJ2fci73ZjvuveLB08xaeHNqzxmwZsLotff1yDML_lMeW0ROs9jvwLYADukBzYtI4eAQdyvbbvJtoIM/s1600/A9717B35-F567-429D-BD4E-1248D2735B9B-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkGmWehHuhgFzczq-yR0R_bVZe9YQHAE1kdCQeXNS1As1xaECR5gmLdhrtqTFrJ2fci73ZjvuveLB08xaeHNqzxmwZsLotff1yDML_lMeW0ROs9jvwLYADukBzYtI4eAQdyvbbvJtoIM/s640/A9717B35-F567-429D-BD4E-1248D2735B9B-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The Lancaster California East Stake building is quite unusual with it's big pillars.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
President Layton called us up to the front of the room and asked us to bear our testimonies. We were not expecting that, but we did it. Sister Layton taught the missionaries about how to win the hearts of the members of their wards (Alma17:29). She said to be mature, prompt in arriving and leaving, be grateful and appreciative, find some little way to serve, and plan how to build their faith through a scripture, song, personal experience, etc. after dinner. President Layton reviewed with the missionaries about how to help someone recognize the Spirit. He gave us a scripture chain that could be used to teach the doctrine of Christ. Then he talked about the three reasons investigators don't come to church: They are unfamiliar with the building, they don't know anyone, and they don't know if they will be asked to do something. He showed us all how to put those fears to rest and how to give a good church building tour. Then he talked about the mid teens to mid twenties age group and how they are especially open and prepared. He showed how to use social media to share gospel messages and find referrals.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Between Palmdale and Lancaster there a lot of Joshua trees. According to legend, Mormon pioneers considered the limbs of the Joshua trees to resemble the upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the promised land. So that is how they got their name. To us they seem to be a cross between a tree and a cactus.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogzAFCoGPEZF2fA8SeSQJgCtGcRbsjeEeexTxAOYBSjKU9cmn2DiZTYVdDpIYIYqu7klvR_zFRSDqnKEyLNyhEWb8th4YAfNV1LWgEbcn_m-zljrwTxT-9R_ceT62Mx6XXYDx87D1TKI/s1600/IMG_5252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogzAFCoGPEZF2fA8SeSQJgCtGcRbsjeEeexTxAOYBSjKU9cmn2DiZTYVdDpIYIYqu7klvR_zFRSDqnKEyLNyhEWb8th4YAfNV1LWgEbcn_m-zljrwTxT-9R_ceT62Mx6XXYDx87D1TKI/s640/IMG_5252.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt2jHpph79g-7-eKFkuV9XK1D4IQuw82F9lRJvkLmiJoSYehZ2MyGn4lY5CxXDawrGCUTPpqsXRcan7tWHTAfK2OYTw4PzBGQ9ypWw_hXz6yB5Nw-VdJGJQy7L8f7aOarK90SnoV94Y/s1600/IMG_5253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt2jHpph79g-7-eKFkuV9XK1D4IQuw82F9lRJvkLmiJoSYehZ2MyGn4lY5CxXDawrGCUTPpqsXRcan7tWHTAfK2OYTw4PzBGQ9ypWw_hXz6yB5Nw-VdJGJQy7L8f7aOarK90SnoV94Y/s400/IMG_5253.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Saturday afternoon we stopped by "Grandma's Tamales" to eat. It is kind of a small, unique place that was recommended to us. James ate a tamale plate and I had pork soup and homemade corn tortillas. It was pretty authentic Mexican food and very good.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPi3nPRKBy6leIqXAVWElFufbnnF2QJc7n0IeVJBarYUEF6Klr5Ml-jsn7_eoYNATWxLqSJnQ-wMR2LsP9BKnRaVq3XaLg6BTa7HwJ1RxxgP5uQFS06OF6WjDMai9kWKeEfQwySpQgwI/s1600/8EE8BAF1-3D41-45F5-A8A2-DCD5887B760A-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPi3nPRKBy6leIqXAVWElFufbnnF2QJc7n0IeVJBarYUEF6Klr5Ml-jsn7_eoYNATWxLqSJnQ-wMR2LsP9BKnRaVq3XaLg6BTa7HwJ1RxxgP5uQFS06OF6WjDMai9kWKeEfQwySpQgwI/s640/8EE8BAF1-3D41-45F5-A8A2-DCD5887B760A-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Saturday evening we went to one of the eight baptisms our mission had. The baptism we went to was for Paulina Mazariegos, a nine year old girl. Her mother came back into church activity recently.</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We spoke in the Spanish group Sacrament meeting today on<b><span style="font-size: large;"> service</span></b>. I managed to say, "Buenas tardes hermanos y hermanas. Nos ha pedido hablar sobare el servicio." I did the rest of it in English with Elder Vellver translating for me. He was almost more nervous than I was since it was his first time translating. James gave his talk in Spanish with no problem and was very impressive. Everyone hugs and kisses us all the time.</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt2jHpph79g-7-eKFkuV9XK1D4IQuw82F9lRJvkLmiJoSYehZ2MyGn4lY5CxXDawrGCUTPpqsXRcan7tWHTAfK2OYTw4PzBGQ9ypWw_hXz6yB5Nw-VdJGJQy7L8f7aOarK90SnoV94Y/s1600/IMG_5253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt2jHpph79g-7-eKFkuV9XK1D4IQuw82F9lRJvkLmiJoSYehZ2MyGn4lY5CxXDawrGCUTPpqsXRcan7tWHTAfK2OYTw4PzBGQ9ypWw_hXz6yB5Nw-VdJGJQy7L8f7aOarK90SnoV94Y/s1600/IMG_5253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt2jHpph79g-7-eKFkuV9XK1D4IQuw82F9lRJvkLmiJoSYehZ2MyGn4lY5CxXDawrGCUTPpqsXRcan7tWHTAfK2OYTw4PzBGQ9ypWw_hXz6yB5Nw-VdJGJQy7L8f7aOarK90SnoV94Y/s1600/IMG_5253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQt2jHpph79g-7-eKFkuV9XK1D4IQuw82F9lRJvkLmiJoSYehZ2MyGn4lY5CxXDawrGCUTPpqsXRcan7tWHTAfK2OYTw4PzBGQ9ypWw_hXz6yB5Nw-VdJGJQy7L8f7aOarK90SnoV94Y/s1600/IMG_5253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
<br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-72082346339246671562017-02-12T16:56:00.001-08:002017-02-12T16:56:55.391-08:00Week of February 6-12<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh my goodness, Spring comes early in Bakersfield! Some of the trees already have buds and some are blossoming.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBo5s5DErJaQaYrwzb_QxeJWq4VZxOkNgZTTrKDSS6BjZgShWTQkzkCl1kcx0VB1AjMsL_hef4SZbdYKKw_Y1rWuo-azEFkFhB_fjox_rTIrg1CzMylL_n70h7g4lIsyA2sbYWW4RpXA/s1600/DFDDBC06-9D2B-4731-BA7A-AD5701614ECC-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBo5s5DErJaQaYrwzb_QxeJWq4VZxOkNgZTTrKDSS6BjZgShWTQkzkCl1kcx0VB1AjMsL_hef4SZbdYKKw_Y1rWuo-azEFkFhB_fjox_rTIrg1CzMylL_n70h7g4lIsyA2sbYWW4RpXA/s1600/DFDDBC06-9D2B-4731-BA7A-AD5701614ECC-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBo5s5DErJaQaYrwzb_QxeJWq4VZxOkNgZTTrKDSS6BjZgShWTQkzkCl1kcx0VB1AjMsL_hef4SZbdYKKw_Y1rWuo-azEFkFhB_fjox_rTIrg1CzMylL_n70h7g4lIsyA2sbYWW4RpXA/s640/DFDDBC06-9D2B-4731-BA7A-AD5701614ECC-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
We went to a teaching appointment with Elders Vellver and Thomason again this week. We visited Navidad who is a lady from Guatemala who has three small children and a husband who apparently is not around much. Her baby, Sarah, is only a month old and so cute. She asked if I wanted to hold her. I had to tell her I would love to, but as missionaries we are not allowed. The Missionary Handbook says, "Because of increasing legal complexities, be extremely careful around children. Avoid any behavior that could be misunderstood or could appear to be inappropriate, including tickling, changing diapers, holding children, and allowing children to sit on your lap. Never babysit children." <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7DVm1_19L-zc9siJmn2hyxt3xUAjGhGNQxW-AarxAPtNwTi_uc1SDa2vj_lzDowH2IhSfq3TeDGlcYZ5fza-JCYuhsyyCgdmPu3VQA1cj8zpY6wAC0jg2AaEB_FaldYvRZbKYaNi_T4/s1600/IMG_5192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7DVm1_19L-zc9siJmn2hyxt3xUAjGhGNQxW-AarxAPtNwTi_uc1SDa2vj_lzDowH2IhSfq3TeDGlcYZ5fza-JCYuhsyyCgdmPu3VQA1cj8zpY6wAC0jg2AaEB_FaldYvRZbKYaNi_T4/s1600/IMG_5192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7DVm1_19L-zc9siJmn2hyxt3xUAjGhGNQxW-AarxAPtNwTi_uc1SDa2vj_lzDowH2IhSfq3TeDGlcYZ5fza-JCYuhsyyCgdmPu3VQA1cj8zpY6wAC0jg2AaEB_FaldYvRZbKYaNi_T4/s400/IMG_5192.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
James did seventy (70) pushups Monday morning to make sure he would be able to do them on Friday. He was bragging about it to whoever he could. Sisters Harmon and Clegg came into the office for something and heard about it. Sister Harmon said she does girl pushups and I "invited" her to do real pushups. I didn't mean right now, but she got down and did ten. So then she "invited" me to do the same and I did. Then we were talking about planks, which she hates. Sister Ball, Sister Harmon, and I got down on the floor right there and then in our office and did planks. Sister Harmon stopped at one minute because she was dying and we went on to two minutes. High five to the old women!<br />
<br />
James did seventy (70) pushups again on the morning of February 10th to mark his 70th birthday!<br />
He can do it!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We had a staff meeting Friday morning. I gave a short inspirational thought based on our personal mission scripture, D&C 64:33. All of the small things we do are building the foundation of a greater work. Sister Layton told us about Brother Gonzalez's (a mission president trainer) recent visit and training. He told them they found there are three reasons investigators don't come to church: everything is unfamiliar, they don't know anyone, and they are afraid of what they will be asked to do. He gave the missionaries a lesson on how to give a church building tour to lessen their fears. Sister Layton brought James a mini cake and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to him. The Layton's also gave him a present - a selfie stick. <br />
<br />
We took Friday afternoon off instead of Thursday and drove the couple hours to Ventura. The hills and mountains were so pretty and green. We went to the beach to look around, but it was cold, windy, and rainy so we didn't stay long. However, it was cool to see the ocean. Then we drove on to Simi Valley. We had a nice birthday dinner to celebrate James' birthday (grilled shrimp and fish) at a fancy restaurant. We spent the night at the Grand Vista Hotel and enjoyed watching a little TV. We don't have a TV at our apartment.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBsziSMdnD2HamZ9waBnlWaXWaMfofpPEJAwpImDoF7hae2OZZemkNhrG-c4oCnsauJvVD6HswAqC6vkSlT8IgmxGeLZUtpav3iDZ9bBWfcbMyAjwpYg9WfjG3atrz8iuH-weBLuh_mo/s1600/7371058C-2567-4668-B205-0B70A8E78BA6-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBsziSMdnD2HamZ9waBnlWaXWaMfofpPEJAwpImDoF7hae2OZZemkNhrG-c4oCnsauJvVD6HswAqC6vkSlT8IgmxGeLZUtpav3iDZ9bBWfcbMyAjwpYg9WfjG3atrz8iuH-weBLuh_mo/s640/7371058C-2567-4668-B205-0B70A8E78BA6-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The next day we visited Ronald Reagan's Presidential Library and Museum. We were there four hours and probably could have spent more time. It was a big place with lots to see. The museum is on a hill and the views are spectacular. Thank heavens there was a break in the rain so we could enjoy the views. It started raining again when we were driving back to Bakersfield.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zZhU-kgp79aw-kiY1sRR0dqG6UJ70qWijCU2fQkQEIJKMiYCFrxyd2yNqKCuNgrWYbFP5dFJ43NgArHYxa8NCTBwfK6mWcQ85v3FRTETZrt6bJqgDHfP-VrMiqI8yKpID2tZ2f9-n7o/s1600/BD7E1989-0759-4E8F-9A09-EF31A9001195-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zZhU-kgp79aw-kiY1sRR0dqG6UJ70qWijCU2fQkQEIJKMiYCFrxyd2yNqKCuNgrWYbFP5dFJ43NgArHYxa8NCTBwfK6mWcQ85v3FRTETZrt6bJqgDHfP-VrMiqI8yKpID2tZ2f9-n7o/s640/BD7E1989-0759-4E8F-9A09-EF31A9001195-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a>This picture of Ronald Reagan is made out of jelly beans, his favorite candy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-mIq_83YlkBtpe82jmS5VhGb9YD6yKltxnUI1sm4N2kAXYEXIHEEEAaMQk0GQp9aUvo7J3699Cn7CqyWN6zesoXxGzd8GYu13dAWDrMwMYvEzFD-22D4NpCV7NZY6fdwptOvYoTatxQ/s1600/3C625168-4BF1-4D0B-94CA-FC465AE5373F-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-mIq_83YlkBtpe82jmS5VhGb9YD6yKltxnUI1sm4N2kAXYEXIHEEEAaMQk0GQp9aUvo7J3699Cn7CqyWN6zesoXxGzd8GYu13dAWDrMwMYvEzFD-22D4NpCV7NZY6fdwptOvYoTatxQ/s400/3C625168-4BF1-4D0B-94CA-FC465AE5373F-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Saturday night when we got back, we went to dinner at Brother and Sister Godinez's. Our four Spanish elders were also invited. We ate guajolota, which is a special dish that comes from Guanajuato, Mexico where they are from. That is also where James' ancestors on his dad's side lived. It is a big bread roll dipped in a chili sauce and fried in oil. Then they cut them open and spread mashed potatoes and chorizo (sausage). Then you add what you want; avocado pico de gio, fresh cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and hot sauce. It was really good! In other parts of Mexico it is called pambazo. It is kind of odd that in Guanajuato it is called guajolota, which means female turkey, but it has nothing to do with turkey. The Godinez's said they are probably going to return to Guanajuato before long because they are worried about their future since Trump became president. They have been in the United States about thirteen years. Their five children and grandchildren all live here and will stay. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80KILCDNviuvu7jN8Qg1yWd9iVnj9nLIDvQszyY9NCb_iCA8-NeIKRCJcoGWGjZQoJr-5jo2LGVT71W-19ygJfv1D_A-Dq65ZRS_asYBNRT7C4V73tfsIpkUz_wwKv9tGALyNHZdC6CI/s640/IMG_5235.JPG" width="480" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Elder Thomason, Elder Barney, Elder Labrum and Elder Vellver (on the ladder)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvxfZr30oT7zB0jxy8g2c3ufAXjt5jEwr2v8HrYRQZ88o-pr0Jmy_zJy2e5_Qex4pv37CYV6GDHQ5lvHuyaXkq31inrXM7dJ3FvrAwbrYFn-U_aJ-_HyWwjwIgN5os9fTM8VqzUpl4fk/s1600/IMG_5234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvxfZr30oT7zB0jxy8g2c3ufAXjt5jEwr2v8HrYRQZ88o-pr0Jmy_zJy2e5_Qex4pv37CYV6GDHQ5lvHuyaXkq31inrXM7dJ3FvrAwbrYFn-U_aJ-_HyWwjwIgN5os9fTM8VqzUpl4fk/s640/IMG_5234.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: magenta; font-size: x-large;">The Lord loves you and so do we!</span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-79095139563065279692017-02-05T16:42:00.002-08:002017-02-05T16:44:19.755-08:00week of January 30-February 5Dustin, an AT&T employee, was at our mission office for nearly half a day doing some work and changing the fax connections so we could move that new printer from one room to another room.<br />
When he was leaving he gave us his card. Almost automatically, I gave him a pass-along card with Christ's picture and said, "Here, we want you to have one of our cards." He kind of hesitated or mumbled. I asked, "Do you believe in Christ?" He said, "Oh yes." He then told us he was actually baptized into our church when he was a youth, but I guess his family was not very active. I told him we could have missionaries stop by to reteach him. He said missionaries have come by before and he asks them questions and they never come back. Just about that time, President Layton walked in and heard the tail end of the conversation. He told Dustin he was not inactive because there was something in there (pointing to his heart) because he was baptized once and believes in Christ. He asked him if he had ten minutes to spare and took him in his office. We had to leave soon after, but the next day we got the rest of the story. President Layton said Dustin had been filled with anti-Mormon stuff, but he gave him a lot to think about. Dustin said he would think about it.<br />
<br />
A few days later, a man walked into the office selling chocolate bars for a fund raiser for a men's rehabilitation center. James came out and bought one and then said, "Here, let me give you something." He gave him a pass along card and James told him to read it and act upon it and it would be the best chocolate bar he ever sold. <br />
<br />
Then we also found out that Matt, the man who cleans the apartment carpets for the mission, is taking the lessons. We all thought he was a member of the church. He actually came into the office on Friday to bring some receipts and we talked about his visits with the missionaries.<br />
<br />
The mission got two very nice new Toyota Tacoma trucks that went to some lucky elders in a more mountain's area. Some sister missionaries were presented with the new Toyota Rav4.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2wgqqKI6yesdGcqyHjPWP4zt39X_o5jEp8hWnu0HOSyUkvFJlXFPY0u2ur29XgQGhqRS2qplHl0PFrSVT-GNoEx1Y9d8DczendJEy6fsif9TScS87wucy-KlpL8WdOG-aE8Gf0_1TGM/s1600/8DCC821B-4840-47D4-BFB4-2FA64DE4A4A0-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2wgqqKI6yesdGcqyHjPWP4zt39X_o5jEp8hWnu0HOSyUkvFJlXFPY0u2ur29XgQGhqRS2qplHl0PFrSVT-GNoEx1Y9d8DczendJEy6fsif9TScS87wucy-KlpL8WdOG-aE8Gf0_1TGM/s640/8DCC821B-4840-47D4-BFB4-2FA64DE4A4A0-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Sister Zambrano and Sister Gillespie brought in a homemade cheesecake for us in the office. It was delicious and so thoughtful.<br />
<br />
Tuesday evening we attended the Kern County School District honor band, orchestra, and choir concert "It's A Grand Night For Music" at the Rabobank Convention Center. Bakersfield's mayor was the master of ceremonies. We were invited by Jayline (cello) and Grace (violin) from our ward. They were very excited that their "grandparents" were there to see them perform.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzg3mB3qC-EoeQN7609v-lnmSQUVTdchvNPpxVGnPmg5aUIFVUTxJuOnbsWrtajUV9U7rXIGKPUl_3ee4tqKg42VMsnqJia9UmpxV2oAnmi2_sMkxj_P3ndr0z8PBpX2lINeUGtMm9OA/s1600/C3F783B0-2001-4359-AD5A-5F97AC9C8526-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTzg3mB3qC-EoeQN7609v-lnmSQUVTdchvNPpxVGnPmg5aUIFVUTxJuOnbsWrtajUV9U7rXIGKPUl_3ee4tqKg42VMsnqJia9UmpxV2oAnmi2_sMkxj_P3ndr0z8PBpX2lINeUGtMm9OA/s640/C3F783B0-2001-4359-AD5A-5F97AC9C8526-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Friday night we enjoyed a potluck dinner social with the mission staff at the mission home. The Balls brought their daughter, Melanie, who is here from Arkansas visiting for the weekend. We had appetizers, prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, rolls, and desert. I brought "Luscious Lime Squares" for the desert.<br />
<br />
Saturday James and I drove to McFarland and Delano for a little adventure. They are only twenty and thirty miles away. McFarland is a city of 19,000 and most famous for the movie, "McFarland, USA". I wanted to run around the high school track but all the gates were locked.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgmulpbggAQKlo-aAtifAP3c8kxkPoowTZS2XHW6INkr3GiImA6eLYzXW3LzBXumFvV-m-Uu8rUw_nJASLi1wyoomKnbMvtMSq8TTRbqjPHyWRSV1_12mQfvEUqQFaNRi-HhskEK33FI/s1600/6CA33AD8-90E8-4340-A92B-ECF4F3132047-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgmulpbggAQKlo-aAtifAP3c8kxkPoowTZS2XHW6INkr3GiImA6eLYzXW3LzBXumFvV-m-Uu8rUw_nJASLi1wyoomKnbMvtMSq8TTRbqjPHyWRSV1_12mQfvEUqQFaNRi-HhskEK33FI/s640/6CA33AD8-90E8-4340-A92B-ECF4F3132047-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Delano is a city of 62,000 population. Cesar Chavez was born there. It has two state prisons. It has a lot of agriculture and is famous for table grapes and Halos mandarin oranges. It has a large Filipino American community. We have six elders serving in Delano and as we were driving down the old town Main Street we saw them. They had a table set up with signs, Book of Mormons, and pass along cards and were waving and talking to everyone. They said they usually do this a couple times a week and get a lot of good contacts that way. We went into the old fashioned JC Penney store and found a great deal on white shirts and two other shirts for James for only $3.99 each after the discount.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJj0txna-_rgI3gMmVkER4fJPMKbXxeI450mFwAI0mlta4UW0J4pWFE5mdVH7ncn5pNts_GC7Q41_stzEemXUfQswoyPL9dV0LvPryw3cyA0xxwTiwQ8-RDPo-68EmvZUp554t7KLNgA/s1600/0FA77045-D9F7-4647-A74B-DDABD7A44B5A-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJj0txna-_rgI3gMmVkER4fJPMKbXxeI450mFwAI0mlta4UW0J4pWFE5mdVH7ncn5pNts_GC7Q41_stzEemXUfQswoyPL9dV0LvPryw3cyA0xxwTiwQ8-RDPo-68EmvZUp554t7KLNgA/s640/0FA77045-D9F7-4647-A74B-DDABD7A44B5A-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlonb2Bjjfr0cwao7wVCixyOdecKIsRYeYFCofDk-thOm6NxI7GhGi0IbuTZrSZiJBvIhcitdAnwUfqV_22vmQDgVwHcjFmPQK8V8HYwkXIlrHJmI7BdIj8nb1gC2m63sivECon7ZvIw/s1600/IMG_5165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlonb2Bjjfr0cwao7wVCixyOdecKIsRYeYFCofDk-thOm6NxI7GhGi0IbuTZrSZiJBvIhcitdAnwUfqV_22vmQDgVwHcjFmPQK8V8HYwkXIlrHJmI7BdIj8nb1gC2m63sivECon7ZvIw/s640/IMG_5165.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Elder Parsons, Elder Canul, Elder West, Elder Tolman, Elder Sant, Elder Greenhalgh<br />
They told us a member of the church painted the beautiful mural on the wall!<br />
<br />
Saturday evening we went to a fiftieth birthday party and dinner for Petra. She is the lady in the Balls ward who has invited us to other dinners and parties at her house. She had everything decorated in leopard print, including herself. (The bottom picture is her family.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoz71S3lAIhr4S2ywaGw6wQWLsfGyego7j6MRnQ5Azli8O1QqKKXcLiUaCfhKQu1qg2sZou9x83lADU_dZyTjT9duTN3-ZsMl1RaKg3kXR7FVqsQByKaGxQxGf_ISEm6SZFdkr46Qnzek/s1600/3EE067AC-7599-489F-92E0-98742C17E2BC-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoz71S3lAIhr4S2ywaGw6wQWLsfGyego7j6MRnQ5Azli8O1QqKKXcLiUaCfhKQu1qg2sZou9x83lADU_dZyTjT9duTN3-ZsMl1RaKg3kXR7FVqsQByKaGxQxGf_ISEm6SZFdkr46Qnzek/s640/3EE067AC-7599-489F-92E0-98742C17E2BC-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Then we went to a baptism. Both Greg and Michelle Etheridge were baptized. They are the parents of three children who were each baptized one at a time in the past six months. Now the whole family has been baptized, and they are all looking forward to going to the temple together in a year to be sealed as an eternal family. That is what it is all about!<br />
<br />
Sunday the Bakersfield 2nd Ward added a Spanish Group. Everything is the same except after the block of meetings there is another Sacrament Meeting just for the Spanish speaking members in their own language. The Spanish Group Leader is Brother Parada. He was born in Chili, but moved to Sweden when he was young. His father was a communist and had to leave Chili. Sweden was the only country that would give them asylum, so that is how they ended up there. His family joined the church in Sweden a few years later. He has lived in the United States for about eight years now. He is married and they have three children. There were about forty people in attendance today at the first meeting, which is pretty good. Two couples were there that had been less active and they bore their testimonies. James also bore his testimony. He told about being called as a branch president in Texas and how the branch grew from twenty-six members to about one hundred forty in less than a year. He told them that the people that were here today are the leaders of the growth of the Spanish Group. He also testified of the importance of families, prayer, scripture reading, and the love the Savior has for us. It was kind of fun to sing the hymns in Spanish and brought back old memories of being in the Spanish branch in Texas.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-72111659553156982742017-01-29T16:27:00.003-08:002017-01-29T16:27:48.304-08:00Week of January 23-29<div style="text-align: justify;">
Monday morning was exciting as we welcomed sixteen new missionaries to our mission. We look forward to welcoming new arrivals about every six weeks. This time there were ten sisters (four of whom are Spanish speaking) and six elders. James and I kind of fell into the job of official organizers and seteruppers. We had a snow theme this time; from my snowflake necklace to the pile of cotton balls for a centerpiece on the tables, to the addition of cauliflower (like little snowballs) in the salad, to the acini de pepe, snowflake stickers for the orientation checklist, and the treat bags full of snowman treats. President Layton was horrified during lunch when someone called out "snowball fight" and everyone started throwing the cotton balls at each other, but it did lighten things up and was fun for a minute or two.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKkk6AOjgPTzbt6nO1BBdy0H2GhgsWrF1CP8_ffmK0jWL2StcEoiOB5u_KbjtuyL4YVP5KdUcpd3o22LnXxecT_CHlOl6OR2UaeKfbMJgOnvykawYWbYFH6D4cO0O2AnyT9txga1fb_c/s1600/5640E348-798C-4767-BD8A-2B5800F3F082-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKkk6AOjgPTzbt6nO1BBdy0H2GhgsWrF1CP8_ffmK0jWL2StcEoiOB5u_KbjtuyL4YVP5KdUcpd3o22LnXxecT_CHlOl6OR2UaeKfbMJgOnvykawYWbYFH6D4cO0O2AnyT9txga1fb_c/s640/5640E348-798C-4767-BD8A-2B5800F3F082-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The dynamic duo: Elder Porras & Elder Morris.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7vPxLy9RU1jMGHPu8Jn1GPUjmOUDFdvItvvGE_aLyqs01lLRMCHllB6yub0x9MTmw82TAnTo0bF38vyfMH0O0h0B3nW0fYKirjcfciAllt_M4XRJoHlKGaS5w34uTshfYp2jKXL31oog/s1600/5880FA50-121C-47FC-86FC-53707EE318FC-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7vPxLy9RU1jMGHPu8Jn1GPUjmOUDFdvItvvGE_aLyqs01lLRMCHllB6yub0x9MTmw82TAnTo0bF38vyfMH0O0h0B3nW0fYKirjcfciAllt_M4XRJoHlKGaS5w34uTshfYp2jKXL31oog/s640/5880FA50-121C-47FC-86FC-53707EE318FC-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaWdcgAoMNwZiT31oGx4tDYeAQEO0w70uhhkAz4c941LanSYWRlnvYC2iwFFFciSh1A191NgMI69VJZXcRsghJOANC-KlECVtt_OL1by6F8xlMnNeoMPxAIIUGIuaT7cmx6d6AKPWky4/s1600/IMG_5092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaWdcgAoMNwZiT31oGx4tDYeAQEO0w70uhhkAz4c941LanSYWRlnvYC2iwFFFciSh1A191NgMI69VJZXcRsghJOANC-KlECVtt_OL1by6F8xlMnNeoMPxAIIUGIuaT7cmx6d6AKPWky4/s640/IMG_5092.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That evening we had dinner at the mission home (picture below) with all the newly arrived missionaries. Sister Morris takes care of that dinner. She had Sister Medina (our substitute granddaughter's mother) make beans, rice, and tamales which everyone enjoyed.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMN39_AQfYV0qwqhonhgIOTy6qVj7C2kkl1_wHij_9H41zdSvZs_U65x43qKTRcz5EPafaS-uG2JEg4yNOV5fstd0xcjr7CNY0pg7bgzDwVRcjiSeY_p8i6uYD_nw0Gw5ABJoBw4zNNk/s1600/IMG_5140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMN39_AQfYV0qwqhonhgIOTy6qVj7C2kkl1_wHij_9H41zdSvZs_U65x43qKTRcz5EPafaS-uG2JEg4yNOV5fstd0xcjr7CNY0pg7bgzDwVRcjiSeY_p8i6uYD_nw0Gw5ABJoBw4zNNk/s1600/IMG_5140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMN39_AQfYV0qwqhonhgIOTy6qVj7C2kkl1_wHij_9H41zdSvZs_U65x43qKTRcz5EPafaS-uG2JEg4yNOV5fstd0xcjr7CNY0pg7bgzDwVRcjiSeY_p8i6uYD_nw0Gw5ABJoBw4zNNk/s320/IMG_5140.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTsFE2w2tEaHbExQ4OSWSMj6Yu2VF5BipnDXZgQtiliVDV1VH9LuV4ElN8aGdQAYStlrnEtK0-PZF-1cY5-JokKgL2qvZugVywt7c2Iduex80-QXFz2Tf5UTGjIvo8KA1GqpqAcFgcsU/s1600/IMG_5093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTsFE2w2tEaHbExQ4OSWSMj6Yu2VF5BipnDXZgQtiliVDV1VH9LuV4ElN8aGdQAYStlrnEtK0-PZF-1cY5-JokKgL2qvZugVywt7c2Iduex80-QXFz2Tf5UTGjIvo8KA1GqpqAcFgcsU/s1600/IMG_5093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTsFE2w2tEaHbExQ4OSWSMj6Yu2VF5BipnDXZgQtiliVDV1VH9LuV4ElN8aGdQAYStlrnEtK0-PZF-1cY5-JokKgL2qvZugVywt7c2Iduex80-QXFz2Tf5UTGjIvo8KA1GqpqAcFgcsU/s320/IMG_5093.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Then Tuesday morning at 9:00 am we were back over to the stake center for transfers. The missionaries usually find out on Saturday night if they are going to be transferred. It was a hubbub of activity in the parking lot. Everybody getting their suitcases and stuff out and transferring it to other cars, lots of hugs and excitement to see each other, and some tears to say goodbye to their old companions. Thank heavens the rain had stopped and it was a nice day. James had to put some license plates on some of the new cars and take care of other business. After about an hour everybody leaves and drives off to their new areas. The trainers stay and come into the building for training and to get paired up with their newly arrived companions. They leave just before noon and are off to save souls. Then we fed lunch to the missionaries who will be departing from their missions the next day. There are only four going home this time. They have dinner and a final testimony meeting at the mission home with President and Sister Layton in the evening. Then early on Wednesday morning they take them to the airport for their 6:00 am flights. This wonderful process of arrivals, transfers, and departures is repeated over and over again about every six weeks. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sxdljGKu_PVr128N6HV2Hysi0Z3T70tnFbG4M8BDX3jWmeq87CbiI3PbIZaEBozPiRj8onuK7kDY5DIRrqB5TEjhDWbAdCFwRRxTNetnC-ecwR_HYbBsZ0FGbzcfdvE3hOoorDPST4g/s1600/IMG_5094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sxdljGKu_PVr128N6HV2Hysi0Z3T70tnFbG4M8BDX3jWmeq87CbiI3PbIZaEBozPiRj8onuK7kDY5DIRrqB5TEjhDWbAdCFwRRxTNetnC-ecwR_HYbBsZ0FGbzcfdvE3hOoorDPST4g/s640/IMG_5094.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPR7zSgIUxQ9MfUFMgk9no2vfXN5Z5h2SBMXABQEPzUhue46fEYvMa3Sy-cf5MNsKVBC4qKGD10Pc3punldbmuUq5lIKWPbOaruI1A-XEkIpTtQYrZ_xfd7sd2ZZdFBGZeVfn6QTWgRc/s1600/IMG_4915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGbpE7dFfYv8sCSVJ3cpAJrjNQTVGLE8ww2o50K7QHf-b5uYrNNkZ28J8ZoHkIopWqn-nLzXj1J8RI3FOGW3MCucU3j6NLnqoScjUjElMB5KT1rJlL1IViuSozFER6i2K7g7PANEkTAw/s1600/IMG_5098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGbpE7dFfYv8sCSVJ3cpAJrjNQTVGLE8ww2o50K7QHf-b5uYrNNkZ28J8ZoHkIopWqn-nLzXj1J8RI3FOGW3MCucU3j6NLnqoScjUjElMB5KT1rJlL1IViuSozFER6i2K7g7PANEkTAw/s400/IMG_5098.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is Sister Clegg and Sister Harmon. We used to see Sister Harmon very often in the mission office. She always seemed to find some reason to come in. She brightens our day, and when she is in the room everyone knows it! She is very outgoing, crazy, and knows how to get what she wants. It is a party whenever she is around! She will still be in Bakersfield, but not so close to the office now. She was assigned to the YSA ward, and that means they cover all of Bakersfield, so maybe we will still get to see her all the time. They are great missionaries!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wednesday morning there was a worldwide missionary broadcast that reached the 74,079 missionaries serving in the 422 missions around the world. The broadcast was with the seven members of the Missionary Executive Council. The council is made up of three apostles, Elders Oaks, Bednar, and Anderson, and four others. We watched it on the computers in the office. They gave some very good training for the missionaries. Elder Oaks said, "establish good habits in the field and they will continue after your missions." Elder Bednar said, "to get out of the way, do your best, and the Holy Ghost will operate thru us in spite of our limitations." He also said, "Talk less, listen more, be still and let the Holy Ghost do His work." Elder Anderson said, "Always speak of the Savior from the heart. It's just not words. It is representing Him." Some of the mission rules pertaining to the schedule in the little, white Missionary Handbook were changed to give missionaries an opportunity to use their time wisely, exercise their agency, fit into the culture and time schedules of other countries better, to have more time on P-day, and to make it a smoother transition when they leave their missions and go back to their regular lives. Also, the information missionaries report related to those they are teaching, "key indicators" changed from the previous nine to only four now. They are: investigators baptized and confirmed, investigators with a baptismal date, investigators who attend sacrament meeting, and new investigators. Elder Oaks gave good advice to all of us when he said, "Miss no opportunity to serve your fellowman."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Help, what is happening! There was only <u>one</u> baptism in our mission this week. Julio Jimenez, an 86 year old man, was baptized. Usually there is a whole list of people getting baptized, which has been averaging out about seven or eight each week. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
James and I try to "match" if we can. He usually waits to see what color I am wearing, and then he picks out his tie for the day. Some of the sisters at transfers noticed and commented on it. They said we were "so cute".</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxdGs0NBiaN_HkPZ34Mqy8QvxjvYwR1g1R0yjZcQ_7WpTpjap8zSyJUnpyOLbR2wQW3Ib0gCmD3dh0OUY6lxnBa_tNY4jKHtMGrqiRkLiaxa6R_I7gRU0NjnqmDvwEwmjlqRSsNRESAI/s1600/765679AA-0804-499A-BA10-FF553DB3753D-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxdGs0NBiaN_HkPZ34Mqy8QvxjvYwR1g1R0yjZcQ_7WpTpjap8zSyJUnpyOLbR2wQW3Ib0gCmD3dh0OUY6lxnBa_tNY4jKHtMGrqiRkLiaxa6R_I7gRU0NjnqmDvwEwmjlqRSsNRESAI/s640/765679AA-0804-499A-BA10-FF553DB3753D-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
On Saturday we went to California City with Ingrid & Bruce to deliver some medication to one of our missionaries there. It is about an hour and a half southeast of here. There is not much in California City. It is a pretty desolate place out in the Mojave Desert. It was only started in 1958 and was going to be a planned community larger than Los Angeles, but it failed. They built Central Park and an artificial lake in the center. The population grew to only about 14,500. Even though it is a small city, it is the third largest in California by land area. It boasts a PGA golf course, small airport, a prison, and a professional independent baseball team, California City Whiptails in the Pecos League. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyODaczGsfDWk4porni-6VRIEa5LlcMq-o6Q8vFxTUtHCIdaIIL3pbLOnjDV6AeoPCN2CUSvBsXIVo_dkI5_ZnCoYdb_NpdSTqIZGv-1_OZp5FiHy6_Vl2Amo3yge_bgwzNn6SShck_Zc/s1600/IMG_5120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyODaczGsfDWk4porni-6VRIEa5LlcMq-o6Q8vFxTUtHCIdaIIL3pbLOnjDV6AeoPCN2CUSvBsXIVo_dkI5_ZnCoYdb_NpdSTqIZGv-1_OZp5FiHy6_Vl2Amo3yge_bgwzNn6SShck_Zc/s400/IMG_5120.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Elder Killian (one of our brand new missionaries) and Elder Rindlisbacher</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Then we went to Boron, a small town about 27 miles from there. Boron only has a population of 2,500, but is home to the world's largest source of the boron compound boric acid. The U.S. Borax Boron Mine is California's largest open-pit mine and the largest borax mine in the world. It is owned by Rio Tinto Minerals. The twenty mule team was made famous there. Also, the movies "Erin Brockovich" with Julia Roberts and "The Carpetbaggers" were filmed there. In addition, the TV show "Death Valley Days" (1952-1975) was filmed in and around Boron.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRTrSBwwdzEVMlzOgeXFk44XgacpffTICEC025gpTRc_OGy4V8Yulu1H6LxcYLQ7UoB31x9qnWsT2Qe8RA2sGKlUUB3xRaz7Xa0iyjwn2WlQ0p4syf9GDiXRvWuTsCoiyIjJxdSchzR8/s1600/013DCF2C-A5B1-4976-8104-0EF455038945-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRTrSBwwdzEVMlzOgeXFk44XgacpffTICEC025gpTRc_OGy4V8Yulu1H6LxcYLQ7UoB31x9qnWsT2Qe8RA2sGKlUUB3xRaz7Xa0iyjwn2WlQ0p4syf9GDiXRvWuTsCoiyIjJxdSchzR8/s640/013DCF2C-A5B1-4976-8104-0EF455038945-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Boron or boric acid is in nature and is in so many products we use everyday and see around us.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-_wOuenKVQ4QJfzMypXcEdmNH5eQfEegibOlqJkoNYyfHRoe7UivELr_eCenrtVVqLJrKkNe9cokExWSWPUFwCcSwRSS7B_K-5_Txm2wVkUcsTwIRu48vsthv4tHPedtNPPq8cgM_gE/s1600/10C766D2-6CB7-4F11-BBF2-9BB13074F3C0-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-_wOuenKVQ4QJfzMypXcEdmNH5eQfEegibOlqJkoNYyfHRoe7UivELr_eCenrtVVqLJrKkNe9cokExWSWPUFwCcSwRSS7B_K-5_Txm2wVkUcsTwIRu48vsthv4tHPedtNPPq8cgM_gE/s640/10C766D2-6CB7-4F11-BBF2-9BB13074F3C0-COLLAGE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-large;"><b>THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5007289065961191763.post-68911714740547016252017-01-22T16:13:00.002-08:002017-01-22T16:13:06.373-08:00Week of January 16-22<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bakersfield has been experiencing unusual amounts of rain lately. It rained several days this week, which is good because they have been in a drought the last few years. Our little courtyard in front of the mission office door looked almost like "beachfront property". This is the first time we have seen water in the river and canals since we have been here. They have been bone dry. Also, the mountains received snow.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTjruhoK4Faxo05QyUUkh4u3PYZKsIUtaExs1qcTHjSKup-1w37bPnz1gboHdhotJN4BG54grsYzgu1ZNMOz6tMGPXVzvmboZFKrlOnl3yHnB7Z6o2aOUtq_e_p3X-ptpiEPFj0FxS6M/s1600/EFD448B4-EABB-4C8E-8ED0-E9048EF15ED7-COLLAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTjruhoK4Faxo05QyUUkh4u3PYZKsIUtaExs1qcTHjSKup-1w37bPnz1gboHdhotJN4BG54grsYzgu1ZNMOz6tMGPXVzvmboZFKrlOnl3yHnB7Z6o2aOUtq_e_p3X-ptpiEPFj0FxS6M/s400/EFD448B4-EABB-4C8E-8ED0-E9048EF15ED7-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We are so excited that we got a new copier in the office this week. (It doesn't take much to make us happy.) It will get a workout because we all seem to make a lot of copies. The old one gave us lots of trouble and frustrations.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBrHc3x5AiQi8SYnEvxZn2OLXa-Ciji4Et8yAR90WjNhlrl6QMVdh80qT10zNOMyE92jW2NdrpBOc6Efvhmw8YR1T0Uw4nVZUMCZSOtPLIwCP7bJdkivZoxBUVC8MdqWuZKm-2HGuMV4/s1600/IMG_4905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqBrHc3x5AiQi8SYnEvxZn2OLXa-Ciji4Et8yAR90WjNhlrl6QMVdh80qT10zNOMyE92jW2NdrpBOc6Efvhmw8YR1T0Uw4nVZUMCZSOtPLIwCP7bJdkivZoxBUVC8MdqWuZKm-2HGuMV4/s320/IMG_4905.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
James took the Assistants, Elder Olsen and Elder Bennett, to lunch on Thursday. I think he just wanted an excuse to go to Freddy's.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN179HQtfvx-0oYs3ENd6-AnmRX8omPLWLHeJdCa1kbHbFFyKy17Zkk0I3aeVK1CmAZIEuXGrUkgUqHtj3nlbPk6pFdfIXXP8DzvGR8oVl4f-dMSYnZ5-YDXtyqC5RXKQsZCJoohZ3Zs/s1600/IMG_4915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN179HQtfvx-0oYs3ENd6-AnmRX8omPLWLHeJdCa1kbHbFFyKy17Zkk0I3aeVK1CmAZIEuXGrUkgUqHtj3nlbPk6pFdfIXXP8DzvGR8oVl4f-dMSYnZ5-YDXtyqC5RXKQsZCJoohZ3Zs/s1600/IMG_4915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbMmX2XPZaRjYYW2P8RhnJZaYW-y18ZAT2lUpfWCrlwHzCm8xk1KO3b4KJDUyCAFZNPdl9JjAOast9hG12K6z_0L13mGdtH9uyKVDtkK8YBhJ-YIwb1IQ4SXfFEPywwzDBhoC9XMxths/s1600/IMG_4915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbMmX2XPZaRjYYW2P8RhnJZaYW-y18ZAT2lUpfWCrlwHzCm8xk1KO3b4KJDUyCAFZNPdl9JjAOast9hG12K6z_0L13mGdtH9uyKVDtkK8YBhJ-YIwb1IQ4SXfFEPywwzDBhoC9XMxths/s320/IMG_4915.JPG" width="240" /></a>Our missionaries have been instructed to use their cars like a bus; drive to an area and then get out and walk. That way they will be out among the people more and have more opportunities to meet people and talk to them. Many missionaries have Chevy Malibu's and they have dubbed them "Malibus". Friday we met Elder Vellver and Stephenson to go teach a lady. Unfortunately, the lady was not home. Those elders were doing what they were suppose to do because their car was parked way down the street. (We took a picture of them at church today because Elder Stephenson is being transferred to Ridgecrest on Tuesday.)</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMN179HQtfvx-0oYs3ENd6-AnmRX8omPLWLHeJdCa1kbHbFFyKy17Zkk0I3aeVK1CmAZIEuXGrUkgUqHtj3nlbPk6pFdfIXXP8DzvGR8oVl4f-dMSYnZ5-YDXtyqC5RXKQsZCJoohZ3Zs/s1600/IMG_4915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Saturday afternoon we went to a baptism. Elder Casper and Elder Waters both went into the baptismal font with Ann to baptize her. Ann is a large woman in her 50's with challenges. She uses a wheelchair most of the time or a walker for short distances. She managed to get to the font and the sweet Elders gently helped her down the three or four steps into the font. Then they were both there to immerse her in the water. It was a tender moment. The spirit was very strong in the room! It was another reminder to us that Heavenly Father does not judge a person by the way they look on the outside. He loves everyone the same and sees the person they are inside and what they can become.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
James taught the lesson in High Priests on Sunday. Last week they asked for a volunteer. No one volunteered, so James did. What a good guy! It was on the talk by Elder Craig C. Christensen, "A Choice Seer Will I Raise Up" from October's General Conference.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<i>P.S. Can you believe that Trump is our new President of the United States!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />mission bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11745219263042293676noreply@blogger.com0