A New Hip

We began our week with a scheduled hip surgery for me (Debbie).   Her hip has been bothering me for a few months.  When an x-ray showed it was bone on bone, and the doctor had time to get me in sooner rather than later, and with the Mission President's approval, we decided to go ahead and schedule the surgery so I could be on the mend and back to needed physical activities.  The technique for performing hip surgery has come along way since my last hip surgery 23 years ago.  We were in an out of the hospital the same day, with walking, full weight bearing with a walker, before leaving the hospital.  It's quite a miracle.  We actually felt there were miracles along the way to make this happen as quickly as it did. 

A goofy photo getting ready for my first outside walk down the sidewalk and parking lot.  I sure look like an old grandma!

It is now nearly a week later, and I'm walking independently with minimal pain and no pain meds!  We feel so blessed.  

We hesitated to even write the Blog this week, because it's mostly been a week of recovery.  We put our missionary duties on hold while Stan took care of me while recovering.  

Saturday morning, I told Stan that I thought we should just attend Sacrament meeting on Sunday, go home and rest, and then go back to do our Mission Prep class, since this was my first day of going out beyond our apartment complex. So that's what we decided to do.

After dinner Saturday, Stan thought it would be fun to drive to the beach and see the sun set and then go out for gelato on Coronado Island.  This sounded great after being stuck in the apartment all week.  So we hopped in the car (well, I shuffled to the car), and barely made it to the beach in time to get some pictures.  

While driving to the gelato store, Stan got a call on his phone from our cute, young, new Relief Society President.  She asked if we were in town and available to help out in Relief Society on Sunday.  Stan told her about my surgery, which she didn't know about because we didn't tell very many people.  He told her that we weren't planning on staying the 2nd hour.  She understood and said good-by.  

After we got home, I kept thinking about the phone conversation.  About 10 pm, I looked at my phone and she had left me a Voicemail earlier in the evening wondering if I could help out.  Now I was feeling guilty and selfish for thinking that I needed to go home and rest the second hour.  I sent her a text and told her I was willing to help with what she needed.  Sunday morning I got up about 6 am and sent her a text.  I assumed she needed a teacher to give the lesson.  I told her I could do it; that I would be okay.  I heard back from her shortly after.  The assigned teacher had contacted her the week before and told her that she wasn't going to be able to teach.  So our RS Pres., Emma, figured that she would just teach the lesson herself.  Well, on Saturday, she received a call from her work, and they needed her to be at work Sunday.  She was stuck, and couldn't find anyone else to teach the lesson.  So I told her I would be happy to do it for her.  The lesson was President Holland's talk "Motion of a Hidden Fire"; I love that talk and was excited to lead a discussion on it.  

Actually, Emma blessed me.  I was feeling like I had made the wrong decision when I decided that I wouldn't stay the 2nd hour, and felt guilty and selfish for thinking that was more important.  When we finally connected and the plan was for me to teach the lesson, I felt great relief and happiness that I could make up for my selfish nature.  

Even in my old age, I keep learning lessons, and need to try to be better everyday.  I'm grateful for the patience of a loving Heavenly Father.  We feel like we've received many blessings relating to this surgery, and want to show our gratitude by serving the Lord.  

Flowers, Marine Corp Graduation, & Tijuana Temple

 Greetings from San Diego!!  Well, this is a great time to live in San Diego - the flowers are blooming & things are so green!  Here is a sampling of some of the local flowers just a short walk from our apartment:

The week has been filled with activities.  We started early in the week on Tuesday & Wednesday feeding Young Missionaries in their new Missionary orientation meeting & then the leaders training meeting.  A newer Senior Missionary couple, the Blakes, were very helpful in helping us feed all those hungry young Missionaries a Taco Salad bar with all the trimmings.  Our Mission leaders are very health conscious and loved the crisp lettuce, tomatoes, fresh avocadoes, black beans, cheese, lean beef, corn, sour cream, olives, green peppers, salsa, tortilla chips, and Texas sheet-cake for dessert!  

In addition, we furnished our Tuesday night Institute class with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.  The class was a little bitter/sweet as it is the LAST class in that institute building since the building has been sold & we will be meeting in the Rancho del Ray Church building (in Chula Vista)  from now  on.  The Young Adults are going to miss playing ping pong, pool, and foosball after class!!

Friday morning brought us a unique opportunity to see 300 marine recruits become marines as we attended their graduation ceremony.  So many of them have been molded from gangly teenagers to focused & disciplined marines, ready to fight for our freedoms & represent this country.  They teach these recruits stronger character & moral virtue despite a host of factors that are trending to undermine individual character development - they teach them honor, courage, and commitment.  Phase II of their training is an emphasis on selflessness and teamwork.  There are 28 hours of programmed instruction on Core Values to teach and demonstrate values such as selflessness, determination, loyalty and integrity.  They introduce them to "The Crucible", a 54-hour event that is designed to test a recruit's mind, body, and spirit.  It is a series of eight events revolving around obstacles, warrior stations, movement courses, and reaction problems tackled over a grueling 40-mile course.  Sleep and food deprivation add to the rigor of the course, which is primarily designed to develop teamwork and camaraderie through shared hardship!  Following this, the next phase trains them in their Military Occupational Specialty.  The last phase teaches them the importance of sustaining their transformation.  All muscles atrophy without exercise; so too with character.  Once started on a path of character development, there is no stopping - all are encouraged to continue developing their character until the day we die!!

This reminds me of the Church's teaching to continue on the covenant path, repenting daily, "endure to the end", & develop as many of the Christ-like attributes we can!

The graduation included a rousing rendition of "The Marines' Hymn":

From the Halls of Montezuma,

To the shores of Tripoli;

We fight our country's battles

In the air, on land, and sea;

First to fight for right and freedom

And keep our honor clean;

We are proud to claim the title of

United States marine.

We had the opportunity on Saturday to cross the Mexican border (with our Mission Presidents blessing) and go to the Tijuana Temple.  Passing over to Mexico was quick, painless, and unobstructed! Arriving in Mexico, everything became way more chaotic as we traveled, swerved, & gyrated past graffiti painted stores, cement buildings, & busy streets for just 15 minutes until we arrived at the gate of the Temple.  After passing through a guarded gate, we arrived in a beautiful oasis of peace & beauty!  The TJ temple was beautifully kept and included sleeping quarters for those travelers that need to stay overnight, as well as a water fountain and courtyard filled with local flowers & plants.  It was like a "celestial kingdom" alcove in a surrounding sea of worldly pursuits.  The temple was beautifully constructed to fit in with a Mexican theme, but still give the message that it is The House of the Lord.

We had a wonderful endowment session with Elder & Sister Phippen & Frank Esparza & his fiance, Beatrice.  We are thankful to Frank Esparza, a YSA bishopric member who knows his way around Tijuana.  Following the session, we found a nice restaurant that specialized in Sea food Tacos that were out of this world!  Fortunately, we were able to cross the border in about 1 hour because of Frank's medical pass which shortened the wait nearly 3 hours!

We were able to teach our Mission Prep class again on Sunday with a small but dedicated group!

We are grateful to the Lord for His tender mercies upon us, and our opportunities to serve Him.

Solar Eclipse, Opened My Mouth, District Council, Donkey Story

 I have been anticipating the Solar Eclipse for weeks; even though, here in San Diego, we probably had only about 60% Totality.  I purchased some solar glasses a few weeks prior to the event so we would be ready.  We were at the Pickleball courts during the Eclipse.  Stan had his glasses on to peek at the sun, and soon was sharing them with the people on his court.  Before he knew it, he was walking from court to court sharing his glasses.  He made probably 20 - 30 new friends just by sharing his glasses.  I walked over to the park and sat on a stone ledge.  I pulled on my Solar glasses, and saw the beginning of the Eclipse - a Pac-Man bite was taken out of the sun!  I watched the Eclipse off and on for several minutes. While I was sitting there, a young man walked by and commented on my glasses. I asked him if he wanted to view the sun, so he sat down beside me and we shared the glasses and talked. I told him I was a Missionary serving with the YSA. It then dawned on me that he looked YSA age, so I started telling him about church and our activities. I wrote down the activities, times and locations for him and invited him to come and join us. Stan came over about that time and I introduced them. His name is Kyle, and he gave me his phone number, too! So, now I need to, in addition to my prayers, follow up with an invite. 

We got home just in time for me to drop Stan off and I headed over to get my hair cut and colored. I decided to take a Book of Mormon and Restoration Pamphlet with me, just in case. The salon was empty, besides me and Sharon (Stylist). So after she washed the color out of my hair, I decided I better have courage and talk to her. I don’t remember how I began, but I told her about Joseph Smith’s vision, and the Book of Mormon and how the resurrected Christ appeared to the Nephites. She told me her sister had given her a nice Bible for Christmas, that was in Spanish, and she liked reading it. I told her I had a Book of Mormon to give her, but if she wanted a Spanish one, I could bring one back to her later that afternoon. She agreed, so I went home and got Stan and a Spanish Book of Mormon. We went back, and she had a customer, but she wasn’t busy with her at the moment. So, we talked to her about the Book of Mormon and I showed her the scriptures that I referred to in the front cover (I had written a short testimony with some scriptures for her to read) and told her about them. She said that she would read it with her Mom, whom she lives with. So, now I have two people to pray for! What an incredible day! I hope Heavenly Father blessed my faltering words so that she heard them through the Spirit! I forgot to mention, that she colored my hair a pretty copper red color, and then she straightened it; I looked quite different when I got home. I think Stan liked it. 

I did follow up with a text to both Kyle and Sharon a few days later.  I have texted Kyle twice, and haven't heard a peep!  Ghosted!  I did receive a short reply back from Sharon; she thanked me and said to have a great weekend!  At least she has a Book of Mormon, and I can continue to pray for them both.

We had our last District Council of the Transfer.  We all shared our testimonies, which is a spirit filled time.  Afterwards, Elder Legg, our District Leader, had each person sit in a chair with their back facing the chalkboard.  Then, each person took turns writing something about the individual in the chair.  Elder Legg took a picture of it, then erased it before we could see it.  Later on that day, he messaged us our picture.  Here are our pictures:

This group of six missionaries have been a lot of fun.  They have been a very cohesive group, and are great missionaries.  All but two of them were transferred out of our District on Friday, so now we'll have a new group to get to know and love.  

After DC, we took them out to In n Out Burger for lunch. That’s become our fun tradition.

On Thursday morning, we drove to the Mission Valley Church where we met with many of the Senior Missionaries.  We gathered together for a light breakfast and to hear from our four departing missionary couples. It’s sad to see them go. I hope we get to get together again someday. We were closest to the Stringham’s; we served in the kitchen together making meals and feeding missionaries. Sister Stringham told a story that left an impression on me. 

"There was a farmer who entered his donkey in a horse race. A man asked him if he thought his donkey could win. He hemmed and hawed a bit, and then said, 'No, I don’t think she’ll win a race, but at least she’ll be able to mingle with the Thoroughbreds.'

Then Sister Stringham said that she has felt like she’s been among the Thoroughbreds with such amazing senior missionaries. As I’ve pondered over her story and statement, I agree with her. But I also feel like I’ve been blessed to have my Sweetheart, family, and friends who’ve been like Thoroughbred’s to me - I’ve learned so much from the examples of others.  Thank you all!

 

Volleyball, General Conference, & a surprise baptism!

 This week started off with one of the YSA's favorite activities - Monday night Family Home Evening VOLLEYBALL!  Yes, the YSA's do have someone give a Spiritual thought & prayer for a few minutes and then follow it with a volleyball activity - they all seem to enjoy it and manage to get a decent turnout with approximately 15-25 people.  It is a good wholesome outlet for this active group!

On Tuesday & Wednesday, we got to put on our "inspector" hats to do younger Missionary apartment inspections (we like to call ourselves apartment "mentors").  Some of the apartments are squeaky clean, while others apartment "dwellers" haven't quite learned the fine art of keeping them clean!  Debbie tactfully suggests that kitchens or bathrooms need a little "work"!  We have to remember that these Missionaries are only 6-7 years out of Primary!  I will have to say that the Sister Missionaries are WAY better than the Elders when it comes to the "cleanliness is next to Godliness" principle.

This weekend, we hosted the General Conference live broadcast with lunch for the YSA's in the institute building.  Although the turnout was a little light, including the young Missionaries who came, we averaged somewhere between 9-19 people.  The Missionaries had a few of their friends (investigators) come and experience what our modern day Prophets & Apostles are teaching us.  We were so impressed with the messages - It sure seems like the Temples were a BIG part of the important topics taught by our inspired leaders!  If people really understood how the message, covenants, and saving ordinances of the gospel could drastically change their lives for the better, they would be beating a path to our doors pleading to have the opportunity to join!!

We were reminded at our Mission devotional last week of a true story told by our visiting authority, Elder Naumann of the Seventy.  When Elder Naumann was a Bishop some years ago, he was conducting a meeting when the Spirit prompted him strongly to announce that there would be a baptism the next Friday night at 6pm at the "Shins?" house.  The problem was that the young Missionaries had announced earlier in Ward Council that they had no one that they were teaching now, that everyone had "fallen through".  Because of this, Elder Naumann dismissed the prompting and continued on with the meeting.  However, the Spirit wouldn't leave him alone, & continued to prompt him to make this announcement!   Well, the meeting was about to end, so Elder Naumann got up to close the meeting, but decided that he would make the announcement that the Spirit was strongly prompting him to make!  Making sure he didn't make eye contact with the young Missionaries, he went ahead and announced that the members should come to a baptism that Friday night at 6pm at the "Shins?" house (The Shins? had a river by their house.).  After the close of the meeting, the young Missionaries gleefully came up to Bishop Naumann and asked him who was getting baptized?  It was then that Bishop Naumann confessed that he had no idea who was getting baptized, and that they had until Friday night to exercise their faith to find out who the Lord wanted baptized!!  Well, the Missionaries really prayed in faith early that week, and contacted all the people in their area book who had previously been to Church, and before Friday, the miracle happened; they came in contact with an individual who had been taught & had been to Church, and WANTED to be baptized!!  So as the Spirit had directed, they had a wonderful baptism on Friday night at the "Shins?" house.  This is another testament that revelation is on going, & that this is the true & living Church of Jesus Christ here on the earth!

Easter Cookies, Haiti, Epic Easter Weekend

We try to think of different ways to share Gospel messages with our pickleball friends.  Since this week was Easter, we decided to put a message of "The Greatest Easter Story Ever Told!" (3 Nephi 11:1-17) on nice paper and attach it to a plate of cookies.  Elder Gary Stevenson, in the April 2023 General Conference, talked about sharing the Easter Story of Christ's resurrection and visit to the people in ancient America.  So that's what we decided to do.  I made a batch of sugar cookies and cut them out in egg shapes, and we decorated them with frosting. We also made a pan of mint brownies.  I got the cookies made on Tuesday, but we ran out of time to finish everything up to be ready to deliver on our Wednesday morning pickleball day.  So we woke up at 5 am Wednesday, made the brownies, plated the cookies and brownies, added the prepared message and headed off to pickleball with two big boxes containing 20 plates of cookies.  Yes, they were well received!  I started to tell our friends that the cookies might expand their waistline, but the message would change their life!  I hope it does!

We saved three plates of cookies to give to our neighbors.  We have one neighbor that we've come to know a bit ever since we delivered Christmas cookies to he and his family a few months ago.  His name is Jason, and he loved our Christmas cookies.  A couple of weeks ago I was just walking out our front door with freshly baked banana muffins to take to District Council, when Jason walked by.  I offered him a muffin, which he took with him on his way.  So we knocked on his door this evening, and he was sure excited to see us!  He said he loved the banana muffin!  He's so nice whenever I see him.  I hope he reads the message included with the cookies.  

Our Haitian convert, Jay, texted Stan earlier this week and said he would like to meet with us to talk about something on his mind.  We set up a meeting time at the Church on Friday.  We had no idea what his concern was, so we went with a prayerful attitude hoping to help.  You may have read in the news recently of all the civil unrest in Haiti.  He told us he feels like his family is safe, but he's still concerned about their well being and that of his friends and their community.  He would like to figure out a way to collect some money to send to them so they can buy food, or send food over to them.  There is so much corruption in the government there.  We told him about the Church's Humanitarian program, and that most likely the Church was helping with some Humanitarian needs in his country.  His family aren't members of the Church, but we were able to find (on Tools) the location of the Church nearest to his family, and the Branch Presidents name and phone #.  Jay was happy to get that information so he could share it with his family.  I admire Jay for his desire to help and give anything above what he needs to pay his bills.  He's quite an amazing young man.  He's currently looking for another job.  He's not getting very many hours with his current employment.  He's a hard worker and pretty industrious, so hopefully he'll find something soon.  We will continue to see how we can help him.

Saturday was an EPIC Day!  We  met with our ward at the Church at 8:30 am, had a prayer, and then headed off to the Los Angeles Temple, a 2 1/2 hour drive.  We traveled through a massive rain storm, but we all arrived safely.  The LA Temple is really big; in fact, it is the largest working temple (Salt Lake is bigger).  We could see the temple spire from quite a ways away, it is much taller than the spires on the more recent temples.  

We had 21 YSA's attend the temple.  They were scheduled to do Baptisms, Endowments, and Sealings.  We went down to the baptistry first, and our group hadn't arrived yet.  So Stan went back upstairs to wait for them there.  After a while, our group started to filter in so I stood up to walk over to them.  As I was greeting the YSA, I looked up, and there were Elder & Sister Riddle, the couple we served in the office with on our New Jersey mission!  They are currently serving in Anaheim on a mission, but who would have guessed that we would run into them in the temple.  They had just arrived to attend a wedding when Stan walked up stairs to find our group.  It was a  miracle that they happened to run into each other.  So they came down to the basement so I could see them.  It was wonderful to give them hugs and say "Hi"!  

This day was made extra special because two of our new converts, Eric and Angelica, were with us in the temple for their first time.  Stan was able to baptize Eric for some of his family, and Angelica was baptized for her half-sister, who died several years ago.  It was a special day for each of them.

After we finished in the Baptistry, Stan and I went up to the Sealing rooms and met with the Bishop and his wife and their daughter and her husband to do Sealings with them.  I loved hearing the prayer, which reminded me of the covenants Stan and I have made and of the promised blessings that the Lord has in store for us.  The Spirit was so sweet!

After we finished, all of our group met up together in a covered pavilion behind the temple and Bishop bought Chick fil A for us to feed our hungry tummy's!  It was a glorious day.  

Happy Easter!

We had a packed, eventful day!  It was another glorious day!

At 7 am, we started off driving up to San Diego to go to the MCRD Base (Marine Corp Recruitment Depot).  Stan had been asked to put together a musical number for their sacrament meeting, which started at 8:30 am.

Elder Paulson played the piano, Sister Palmer played the violin, and Stan played the cello.  They performed "Consider the Lilies".  They did it beautifully.  Music has a way of bringing in the Spirit like nothing else.  

After the talks, the graduating recruits had an opportunity to bear testimony. A couple of those that went up to the podium weren't even members, but one said that he "knows the Church is true!"  There was another young man that said he hadn't been active for a couple of years before joining the military.  Now he's active, and he blessed the Sacrament!  It was a blessing for us to have the opportunity to be there.

As soon as we got home, I started working on dinner.  We invited the Sisters and Elders that serve with us in the YSA ward to come to dinner this evening.  But, before I could make dinner, I had to make our Easter breakfast tradition, Eggs a la Goldenrod!

We left for Church early, so Stan could practice with the trio that were playing the same Hymn "Consider the Lilies" for our Sacrament meeting. Only this time, Stan was playing the piano (the Elder that played the piano this morning couldn't come to our meeting).  Elder Provencio played the cello, taking Stan's place.  I want to insert in here how hard Stan worked on putting this musical # together.  When he found out that the other Elder couldn't play the piano, he called a few people, but no one was available to play.  So he started practicing.  It is not an easy piano accompaniment!  But, he worked on it all week, and he pulled it off.  I'm so proud of him.  He's amazing!

The whole Sacrament meeting, from the speakers and including the musical number, was a beautiful spiritual experience.  Afterwards, Stan said there were some mistakes in the musical #, but I believe the spirit conveyed the message of the music and no one noticed any mistakes.  

Then, we came home and had a wonderful, glorious time on a Zoom call with our family.  I'm so grateful for technology. It was fabulous seeing and talking to everyone, and sharing "The Greatest Easter Story Ever Told" with our family.  We love and miss our family so much!

The Sisters and Elders arrived for dinner and we had a fun evening together sharing yummy Easter dinner, and teaching them about our family tradition, The Easter Egg Roll!  They loved it.  The winner got to share what gospel message we can learn from the Egg Roll.  

It was a great evening and the end of an epic weekend.