Week of March 20-26

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 🍬, 🍰, 🍨, 🍪, 🍫,  etc. all week. I feel like I have been blessed because those things have surprisingly not been much of a temptation to me.

That is the Tiwi mounted on the window.

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!"

President Layton told the missionaries that Elder Rasband and others have said there are three places  where we are on "holy ground"; temples, churches, and our homes. 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 "if we want to talk to God, we pray. If we want to listen to God, we read the scriptures." He also quoted Sister Beck, who was quoting someone else, "Don't wallow in imperfections; starve the problems, feed the opportunities."  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 know 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, diligence. 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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Kyli with some of the young women from her ward who came to her baptism.

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.









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.   Drum roll!!!







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.
Alecia's ethnicities are: 96.2% Europe (7.1% Iberian from South Europe and 3.7% East European) and 3.8% Middle Eastern.
We were both surprised about the Middle Eastern. Pretty interesting!

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of March 13 - 19

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.











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!

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.

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.)

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 Café and caught up on all the news.

  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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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!

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of March 6 - 12

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.

               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.

                Elder Chamberlain, President and Sister Layton, Elder Atkinson, Elder Cruz
             Elder Stewart, Elder Rindlisbacher, Sister McMinn, Elder Pena, Elder Thomson

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of February 27 - March 5

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.

 

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.

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? *

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!

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.

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.

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.

Sister Seiuli and Sister Isom are in the photo with Emma.

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.

Elder Rowley, Chris, and Elder Crane make a handsome trio.

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!

Here Megan is with Sister Newhouse and Sister Kuang.

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.

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

(*on the right)

Week of February 20 - 26

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.
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!

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.

Everywhere you look is inspiration and beauty. The architecture of the buildings is amazing in itself. The stone is travertine that comes from Italy.

The views are spectacular.  You can see all of the Los Angeles area and even the ocean.

The gardens and outdoor landscape is beautiful also.

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.

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.

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 "the field is white" it will not be ready to "harvest" until the fall. (D&C 4:4, John 4:35, Alma 26:5)

A couple weeks ago the white blossomed trees (not the almond trees) were blooming and now the pink 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!

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of February 13 - 19 (Valentine's Day)

We were pleasantly surprised Monday morning when we showed up to the mission office and saw that we had been "heart attacked".

Everybody loves a good love story, 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!

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 not 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.

The Lancaster California East Stake building is quite unusual with it's big pillars.

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.

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.

                

                                                        

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.

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.

We spoke in the Spanish group Sacrament meeting today on service. 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.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

THE LORD LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!

Week of February 6-12

Oh my goodness, Spring comes early in Bakersfield! Some of the trees already have buds and some are blossoming.

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."

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!

James did seventy (70) pushups again on the morning of February 10th to mark his 70th birthday!
He can do it!






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.

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.

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.

 This picture of Ronald Reagan is made out of jelly beans, his favorite candy.

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.

 

Elder Thomason, Elder Barney, Elder Labrum and Elder Vellver (on the ladder)

The Lord loves you and so do we!