Week of January 2 - 8

This cute, little snowman is our lone January decoration.

We started the New Year and this week off by getting back to exercising. While exercising in the club house we watched the Rose Bowl Parade. It hit me kind of funny that it takes place in Pasadena on Colorado Blvd, since we used to live in Pasadena, Texas and now in Colorado. We only went into the office for about an hour on Monday because it was a holiday and everything was pretty quiet.

Wednesday, January 4th, marked the 1/2 way point of our mission. It is hard to imagine that we are on the downside now. We are trying to do everything we can to help our mission run smoothly and efficiently and take advantage of any opportunities that come our way to help in other ways. We are trying to be more attentive to the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost and follow any and all promptings we receive.

Thursday we went with Elders Vellver and Stephenson to a teaching appointment. They taught the Word of Wisdom lesson to Teodore and his son. Teodore is probably around fifty years old and does not read or write. His son has some kind of mental disability. They live in very humble circumstances in a tiny house with barely anything.

Friday we met with Mario, the guy we took home from church last week, and Elders Jacobson and Barney at the Family History Center at the church to help Mario. While we were waiting for the elders to get there with the key, Mario was telling us about gang life in and out of prison. It was all very interesting and we got quite an education. It is amazing that he has been able to break the cycle of gangs and violence that he grew up in and his family is still somewhat involved with and get on the right path.

Saturday we went to watch the movie "Hidden Figures". The movie is the true, inspirational story about three brilliant, black women in the 1960's who worked at NASA and helped to launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit. It was one of those rare movies where the whole theatre was clapping at the end because it was so good and inspiring!

In the evening we went to the baptism of Shelby Etheridge. She is a 13 year old girl whose two younger brothers joined the church recently. Her father and mother are also investigating the church. It is a real inspiration that children and teenagers can feel the spirit and know the truth and make such an important decision for their lives.

Sunday evening the Laytons invited us, the Ball's, and the Morris's over to the mission home for dessert. They are constantly on the go traveling around the mission for zone conferences, interviews, MLC, district meetings, meetings with stake presidents, etc. Sister Layton, Nancy, says she feels like they live in their car and hotels. They do not get into the office very often, so she says she misses us. We didn't know until we got there that it was Nancy's birthday. They are also going to start having potluck dinners at their house once a month.

James has been reading an autobiography of Steve Young and really enjoying it. He doesn't read many books so this is kind of a rare sight.

This statue of Father Francisco Garces is a historical landmark in Bakersfield. It is located in Garces Circle, the only traffic circle in Bakersfield. It was sculpted in 1939 and stands over 22 feet tall. Garces was the first white man to enter the region back in the 1700's. He was a Catholic priest and explorer.

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of December 26-January 1, 2017 (New Years)

This is a sight you do not see in Colorado in December; flowers and a hummingbird.





This week there were a couple days that the temperature was higher in Parker, Colorado than here in Bakersfield, California. Interesting! It rained all day Friday and Saturday afternoon and evening. We even had to break out our umbrella. All that rain cleansed and cleaned the air so that Sunday morning the mountains around Bakersfield were visible and pretty.

It is always kind of a let down right after Christmas when the holidays are over. Things look kind of bare at home and at the office without the few Christmas decorations we had. The bright spot is that we noticed the days are already getting longer and it is not dark any more when we leave the office about 5:00 pm. Yeah for more daylight!

Our car didn't start one morning. The battery was dead, so we got a new one and were back in business.
The other car news is that the mission received the fourteen new Chevy Malibu's that James had been waiting on forever. The office staff and a couple drivers from the dealership helped drive the cars over to the office parking lot. Then we had to take them to Sound Waves where the TiWi's were installed. The lucky missionaries who get the new cars are so excited! Below are five of the cars all neatly in a row.

The missionaries are always so appreciative of any little thing we do for them; from making a phone call for them, delivering them a package from home, getting them supplies at the office, etc. We had the opportunity to really help a missionary the other day and were thankful that we were in a position to do so. She has been thanking us every since. We told her to just concentrate on her missionary work now, and when she has an opportunity some day she can pass it on.

I turned 66 on Thursday and had a nice birthday. All the texts, birthday cards, and phone calls made me feel special. We went to a movie, and then the Ball's treated us to dinner to celebrate my birthday.

We rang in the new year playing games with the Ball's. I had to twist James' arm to get him to play games, but he really enjoyed it and got into it. He won Phase 10 and I won Five Crowns! 
We ate too many sweets and toasted in 2017 with glasses of "bubbly" Martinelli's.
(FYI:  Martinelli's is made in California near Monterrey Bay.)

Sunday at church we met Mario who was baptized last April and just moved into the ward. He is twenty-eight years old and spent ten years in prison. When he got out and was on parole he accompanied a friend to church. He loved how it felt there and how he felt inside. He had to wait until he was off parole to be able to join the church. After church we took him home so he could change his clothes and then we dropped him off at his job at a rehabilitation place for ex-convicts. He used to be a client there and now that is where he is employed. He grew up in southern California in a dysfunctional family that is into drugs, drinking, gangs, and prison. He told his mom he loves them, but would have to love them from a distance because he has changed his life and doesn't want to be influence by their lifestyle. He is also getting laser treatments to remove his tattoos. Mario is a big, big guy and barely fit into the front seat of our VW with the seat all the way back.

We want to wish you all JOY & PEACE in the new year.

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of December 19-25 (Christmas)

The missionaries in our mission get to go to the temple twice per year, in June and in December, with members from their wards. Then a couple weeks before they finish their mission they get to go to the temple with the other departing missionaries. In addition, it is new policy that they can go with their new converts to take them to do baptisms. Well, last Tuesday and Wednesday were the all mission temple trips. On Tuesday we went and Ingrid Ball went with us. Her husband opted to stay at the office. We went to the Los Angeles Mission Office in the basement of the Visitor Center. We met the office couples and had a tour of their office. It was fun to see how another mission office looks and runs. We saw many of our missionaries coming out of the temple as we were going in. They went earlier. We ate a late lunch in the temple cafeteria before going to a session. It was past 5:30 pm and dark when we walked out of the temple, but the Christmas lights were shining brightly. We walked around and enjoyed them before our drive back.

On our afternoon off on Thursday, we delivered the fifteen microwave potato bags I made to some of our neighbors and friends from church. It was fun to spread a little Christmas cheer.



Friday was the Christmas "Morningside" for this side of the mission at our stake center. We had breakfast, watched the movie "It's a Wonderful Life", passed out the Christmas treat bags, played a fun game with the gifts the parents had sent, had a couple special musical numbers, sang Christmas carols, were taught by President and Sister Layton, and ended with a picture video of the missionaries and their activities. Everyone had a wonderful time!

Saturday night, Christmas Eve, the Morris's invited us over for a Mexican dinner. We brought bunuelos and pan dulce that we bought at Vallarta's Mexican grocery store. (It was so busy there this morning. Everyone was buying masa to make tamales and their food for the holidays.) After dinner, we had a fun "white elephant" gift exchange. Then Patty Morris read a touching Christmas story. It was so nice being there with some of their family and friends. It distracted us from missing our own family and Christmas traditions.

On Christmas morning we found our stockings all filled with goodies and opened a couple gifts. Then we went to church and enjoyed our Christmas Sacrament Meeting. We loved talking to our kids and grandkids and hearing about their Christmas.                 








We had Christmas dinner at the Ball's house with them, Elders Colburn, Egbers, Casper, and Waters, and John from their ward.

Below are some of the Christmas lights and trees around Bakersfield that we have enjoyed this season.

The article "The Holy Ghost Our Personal Guide" in the January Ensign tells about the adoption of our own sweet Sister Hayes in our mission. She was adopted from an orphanage in Asia when she was four years old. The article is written by her mother.

A picture is worth a thousand words.
I guess it is true that some Mormons have horns!







    THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of December 12-18

Monday we welcomed ten new missionaries to the California Bakersfield Mission. James and I are the ones that usually set up the cultural hall for their arrival. We set up tables for the lunch and tables for the orientation stations area. We are in charge of the lunch also. We order and pick up the pizzas. I make salad, and this time we also had cantaloupe, grapes, and cuties. The missionaries arrive at the airport about noon. President and Sister Layton and the Assistants are there to greet them. Elder Morris is also there with his truck and trailer to transport all of their luggage. They usually get to the church about 12:30. We eat lunch and visit. Then we man our stations (contact info, housing, health, vehicles, finances, photos/emails, and picture with President and Sister Layton), and the missionaries fan out to get information, sign papers, etc. After they have gone to each of the stations, they get their mission binder (full of more important info) and a treat! This month it was the sugar cookies I made and a candy cane in a little bag for each one. Then the missionaries go to the Relief Society room for some training. We clean up.       
That evening we all have dinner at the mission home. Sister Morris takes care of that dinner. She did ask me to make salad this time.             
Here we are with Sister Arceo from the Houston Spanish Stake. Her stake president is President Call, who served with James in the first Spanish Stake when we lived in Pasadena, Texas.

On Tuesday the new missionaries are assigned companions and transfers take place. Early Wed.

morning the Assistants and President and Sister Layton take the departing missionaries to the airport. We had twelve go home this time.

This is a picture of some of the Christmas Morningside treat bags I assembled. I felt like one of Santa's elves filling 149 Christmas stockings. Our mission had two Christmas Morningsides on Thursday for the missionaries in the Lancaster/Palmdale and the Ridgecrest/Bishop areas. This coming Friday will be the one for the Bakersfield area. We have also been getting lots of Christmas gifts in the office that we have had to organize and wrap to be given out at the Morningsides.

Saturday we drove to the twin cities of Lancaster and Palmdale in the Antelope Valley. They are about 95 miles to the south-east. We had not been to that part of the mission yet, so we decided to go. We also had some packages and a license plate tag to deliver to some of the missionaries serving in those cities. As we were driving we were surprised to see a light dusting of snow on the mountains. There are huge solar farms outside of Lancaster. Lancaster became the first US city to require solar panels on all new homes effective January 2014. Lancaster is also home to the first "musical road" in the US. We rolled our windows down and listened to the theme of "The Lone Ranger" (1950's TV show) as we drove 55 mph down the grooved road. The music is probably only about a quarter mile, but it was pretty cool!

Palmdale is called the "Aerospace Capital of America" and is home to Edwards Air Force Base. There is also the California Poppy Preserve. The poppies are in bloom mid-February to mid-May, so we will have to visit then.

Guess where America's favorite clementine comes from? If you said Bakersfield, you are right!   They are grown in the San Joaquin Valley which includes all of Kern County where Bakersfield is. They are packaged at Sun Pacific in Bakersfield. Cuties are the original "fruit" snack.

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of December 5 - 11

This week was draining, especially for Elder Porras. He had a colonoscopy on Tuesday so Monday it was a clear liquid diet and Dulcolax and Miralax. When they took him back for his procedure, I went to work for a couple hours until they called me to come get him. Everything went fine. It took all the rest of Tuesday and all night for his drowsiness to wear off and his stomach to get back to normal.

On Wednesday we met Elder Sant and Elder Chamberlain at the church to teach April a new member lesson. First, Elder Chamberlain helped her with some of her math problems she didn't understand. We were lost, but she got it. Then we had a lesson on faith and how faith, hope, and charity are intertwined. We took the pictures below at church today because the elders wanted pictures with us before they get transferred on Tuesday. Elder Sant is on top and Elder Chamberlain is on the bottom.

Saturday we went to Tehachapi, which is about forty-five minutes from Bakersfield. It is a pretty drive there because you get into the mountains. Since it is over 4,000 feet in elevation it was about fifteen degrees colder there and rainy and foggy. Before we got to the town we stopped at  the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument and museum. Cesar Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who organized strikes and protests for the benefit of the migrant workers. He helped organize the National Farm Workers Association. He helped so many people improve their lives. He started out in the fields as a Mexican American farm worker. That back breaking work and his long fasts for his causes took a toll on him and he died when he was only sixty-six. It was a slow day at the museum and we were the only ones there, so we got to visit with the girl at the front desk and ask her lots of questions. She is Daniella Chavez one of Cesar's thirty-five grandchildren. She was born after he died so she only got to know him thru her grandmother who took care of her when she was little and then Daniella took care of her grandmother in the last years of her life. Helen, Cesar's wife, died just last June. Daniella is twenty years old and one of the younger grandchildren. She said she has been bullied and called a Communist by those who didn't like what her grandfather did or understand it. I told Daniella what impressed me as I learned about her grandpa is what good one person can do in this life. I told her about our church's Christmas initiative, "Light the World" on mormon.org. I told her that her grandpa certainly did his part to light the world by helping all the people he did and improving their lives and bringing light into their lives.

Then we drove along the scenic Tehachapi Loop. However, because it was so foggy we couldn't see much. We did see the train. The train loop was built in l876 and is the largest spiral configuration of railroad tracks every designed and built. They say if the train is long enough, it will pass over itself.

We drove on into the town of Tehachapi to the Crèche Festival at the church. It was beautifully set up. We enjoyed seeing some of the missionaries serving there. Sister Gallacher, from Highlands Ranch, Colorado is in the red shirt. Remember the nativity scene (in the bottom picture) that we all got from Primary or Mutual back in the '60's and was in every Mormon home. That brought back memories.

Sunday evening we attended a Community Christmas Music Festival at the stake center. There was beautiful music and singing. Our favorite was a couple who sang "All I Want For Christmas" accompanied by her playing the ukulele. It was very peppy unlike most of the numbers. Too bad they didn't sing more.

This evening I made and decorated sugar cookies all by myself. There were no grandkids around to help me. I missed our annual grandkids cooking decorating and caroling day! I made the cookies for a treat for the arriving missionaries that come tomorrow.

This week the mission received four new cars; Chevy Malibu's. The cars are really nice. We have fourteen more coming in the next few weeks. Some of the missionaries have been trying to buddy-up to Elder Porras in hopes that they will be assigned one of the new cars. Too bad it doesn't work that way. The cars with the most mileage (over 50,000 miles), cars farthest away from Bakersfield, and other factors are taken into consideration. Then the President and his Assistants are really the ones who make the decisions.

Dewar's Fine Candies is a fourth generation family owned and operated business. It was established in Bakersfield back in 1909. They have chocolates, taffy chews, and ice cream. We had an ice cream cone there and it was good, but Utah State Aggie ice cream or Texas Blue Bell ice cream have them beat. However, it is a fun place to go. They have two locations; the original store and a new modern building.

   THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of November 28 - December 4

California passed a law to ban plastic bags at grocery, convenience, and other stores. It went into effect right after the elections. So now you pay for a bag, bring your own, or just carry out whatever you bought. At Walmart and some other stores they have these thick plastic bags you can buy for 10 cents that are suppose to last thru 125 trips.







We celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. We took the afternoon off to do errands, shopping, dinner, and a movie. I posted this picture on Instagram and then our daughter, Delane, put it on Facebook. We got lots of likes and comments from family and friends. It was fun to see. (Just as a reminder, we did not deface this tree in the forest. We just happened upon it and it had our initials. It was a miracle!)

We have committed to Light the World in at least 25 ways over 25 days. We have been sharing the pass along cards and calendars for this Christmas initiative with everyone that comes in the mission office; the Culligan man, the mail man, and the Fed Ex and UPS delivery people.
We enjoy turning on our own Christmas lights every evening. It makes me happy and brings a special spirit. We love the nativity that our daughter, LaResa, and her kids sent us for an early Christmas gift.

Friday we got to go to the Los Angeles Temple for the "departing temple trip" for the missionaries leaving in a week and a half. We took Elder Hernandez, Elder Smith, and Elder Price with us in our little VW Jetta. Thank heavens they are all thin elders. However, Elder Price is 6 foot 8 inches. I moved my seat up as far as I could to give him some leg room. He said he was fine. It was fun. We had a wonderful day!

 After having lunch in the temple cafeteria, we enjoyed the Temple Visitor Center and the beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

That evening we attended Lisa Wells's baptism. She is in our ward. Her husband, Eddie, and their three children came with her. She told me she did not even tell her mother because she knows she would not have approved. Eddie was very touched and emotional. He has been coming to church with her the last few weeks also.

Saturday James was out washing our car when a U-Haul truck pulled up. He jumped right in to help a couple guys unload it. They were helping their friend, Lee, move. He moved into the apartment next to ours. I looked out the window and saw them going up the sidewalk with loads of stuff, so I went out to help too. It was nice giving service, but the exercise was nice also. Then we shared "Light the World" cards and calendars with them.

Saturday evening was our ward Christmas dinner and party. We took Verenice and Melva's mother and sister. Melva is out of town, but her nonmember family was happy to go and really enjoyed it.

Sunday James bore his testimony in Sacrament Meeting. One thing he said was that he has opened lots of Christmas gifts over the years, but can not even remember what one of them was. Yet, he can remember the celebrations with our family and enjoying the time together. I feel that way also. 

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of November 21 - 27 (Thanksgiving)

It rained last Sunday night and Monday morning! Then it rained again yesterday (Sat) and this Sunday morning! Rain around these parts is quite an unusual event, so we had to make note of it.


Believe it or not both Ingrid and I finished our 30 day fitness challenge on Tuesday morning! We bragged about it to everyone we could that day. When we first looked at it and saw the last half and the last day, we thought no way. However, we persevered, told ourselves "you can do it", relished every "rest" and made it through. That's not bad for two 65 year old women (one, named Alecia,  who is almost 66)!  It just goes to show we and everyone can do hard things physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or whatever comes our way.






Tuesday afternoon we went to the Chat and Chew Restaurant, which is owned by five brothers, to help serve a Thanksgiving meal to homeless children from Champ Camp. Champ Camp is an afterschool program run by Bakersfield Homeless Center. The director said they have about 100 kids in the program, but could only bring about 25 of them. The kids were kind of somber at first, but then they livened up, except one 11yr old boy. Both James and I talked to him, but he hardly said anything and did not crack a smile. We felt so bad for him that he was so sad or troubled.

There was one woman who must have wandered in off the street. We tried to talk to her, but she also hardly said a word and did not have a smile. However, I think she was happy for a good meal.
Bakersfield's new mayor and one of the city council members were there along with TV camera crews.



Later in the week, we went to the Bakersfield Homeless Center and dropped off the 21 knitted hats I made since we have been here for the Champ Camp kids.

Bakersfield seems to have quite a large homeless population. We learned that California has the highest concentration of homeless persons in the US - close to 21% of all homeless in the country. Yet, California's total population is just 12% of the nation's total. We see lots of people pan handling at the intersections. You often see people with an old grocery cart or a little trailer on their bike filled with all their worldly goods. Bakersfield is probably a pretty good place to be homeless because the weather is fairly decent and there is hardly any precipitation.

Wednesday we drove to Ridgecrest (about two hours away) to attend Zone Conference there. It is a small zone with only four elders and eight sister missionaries. President and Sister Layton taught them about the "power" they as missionaries have and how they can get and improve that power. In the afternoon, James did a nice five minute vehicle presentation mostly about safety and defensive driving. Then before the missionaries left, he inspected their cars inside and outside. There is a form he has to fill out on each car. The Stake Relief Society fed us a delicious lunch of salad, soups, rolls, and pumpkin pie. After lunch at Zone Conferences all the missionaries gather around the sisters who provided the food and served to thank them. The Zone Leader asks them to share their name and any missionary affiliation they might have like if they, their spouse, children, or parents served a mission or if they were taught the Gospel by missionaries. It is always great to hear their stories. Then we sing "Called To Serve" to them.















(Elder Allen, on the left, is from Aurora, Colorado and knows our granddaughter, Gaby, from church dances. He asked about her.)





THANKSGIVING DAY 
Four out of our five children live in and around Denver, so they all had Thanksgiving dinner at Troy's house. Our sweet grandchildren surprised us with a message video of them going around the table telling what each one is thankful for and then they ended with, "I love you Grandma and Grandpa." That melted our hearts!
One granddaughter is in Lithuania for a few months with the International Language Program. For our daughter who lives in London, it was just another day at work. Her husband and two boys are in Prague right now where it was just an ordinary day also. We miss them all.

We ate Thanksgiving Dinner at Dalila Medina's house. She invited all eight of the missionaries (that includes us) from our ward, her mother, her sister and her family, and Dalila's three kids. I made pumpkin cake to take. After dinner, we all went around the table and told what our Thanksgiving traditions are. Then she said it was her tradition to share our testimonies. So went back around the tables and each shared their testimony. The sister missionaries from the YSA ward came after the elders left. We learned it is against the rules for them to have dinner together. It was a really nice Thanksgiving, but we definitely missed our family!

On Saturday we attended two baptisms. Rochelle and her 9 year old son, Hasan, from our ward were baptized at 6:00 pm. She is a single mother who also has a 2 year old daughter, Selena. Rochelle said she was so happy and felt so good to have her sins washed away. The other baptism was at 7:30 pm for Yvonne Taylor who has been investigating the church for about a year. The woman who gave the talk on the Holy Ghost at her baptism has only been a member for five years. She told how they investigated the church for about eight months. They had lots of questions and didn't feel like they knew enough or were ready. Yvonne and her husband got a babysitter for their four small kids on a Friday night and drove to a special place where they poured out their hearts in prayer to ask Heavenly Father if they should be baptized. She said they did not receive an answer right away. Monday night they decided to have Family Home Evening. They did not have anything prepared, so they decided to watch a Mormon message video. They let their oldest child pick the video. It came on their old computer and then the computer froze up just as the words "You Know Enough" showed up on the screen. That was their answer and they were baptized!

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!