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.
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