Busyness

I'll have to paint my porch ceiling!

We have had a calendar filled few weeks with many different experiences. One of my favorite activities was taking our favorite female Marine to Old Town. We  went to the miniature train museum, out for some not so great Mexican food, to the Mormon Battalion and walked through the village of victorian houses. I loved the architecture and so did she. She taught me something new. Under the porch roofs or the eaves of every entrance to the homes the ceiling is painted light blue. I didn't know that that was done to match the sky and to keep evil spirits from entering there.

Volunteering at the USO was good and not so good. We would love to be able to go to the airport on Tuesdays when the Marines are returning from their 10 day leave. But, it seems to be the favorite day of other volunteers, and they are very territorial. Also, our name tags must make someone there nervous, and we were asked to remove them. (I don't know what's so scary about that!) We went to another facility, the USO office at Liberty Station. Mike manned the desk and I helped serve ice cream. We liked it there better.

Sister Sayer and I have been teaching lessons to recruits who are coming to church for the first time in years. We have our class in the back of the auditorium after Sacrament Meeting. There is a lot going on at the same time in the same room: EQ lesson, interviews, blessings, four different missionary discussions, new member recruit orientation. It is quite the hub-bub of activity--the Gospel in Action!

We will be covering for Elder and Sister Sayer at the end of the month. They are the MRM's whose assignment is MCRD. They take care of all the business there. Anyway, we went to a Marine Graduation. We got to sit in the grandstand with all of the big wigs. My favorite part of it all was the Marine Band. It is very cool to watch the Marines march on the parade deck in their platoons.


We were lucky to hear the Maine Band again at a Flag Day Celebration. This was held at the Mormon Battalion Museum. Mike was asked to speak at the ceremony that saluted the flag and honored four other veterans. He did a really great job and was inducted as an "honorary member of the Mormon Battalion, US Army of the West." I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the audience while he was sweating it out on the stage. In fact, I was so comfortable that I forgot to record his speech or take any pictures.



A funny thing that happened a while ago: We were walking/biking and a cute little 82 year old Jewish lady came over to visit. She was a comedienne, literally. Her name was SueAnn, but she insisted we call her Sue. She told us a few jokes (some she edited after she saw our tags) and asked Mike if the government gave him any money when he got hurt. He told her, "$378.00." After a few expletives she pulled out her checkbook (which she showed me had a balance of $128,000.00ish) and was going to give him some money! We politely turned down her offer...

Yes, I'm wearing ear warmers

June Gloom is a real thing. We haven't seen the sun but maybe three days this entire month. It's caused by a marine layer or something like that. After all of the rain January-March we are seriously wondering about this whole Sunny San Diego theme. We manned the temple booth for a few afternoons and stayed wrapped up in blankets between visitors. We'll see what July and August bring!


We miss our family and friends, our home ward and sense of community. But, we know we are where we should be right now in our lives. The Stone rolls forth! How lucky we are to be a part such a great movement!

MAY have been a rough month

May started and ended with hospital visits.

The first week, the wife of a Marine had miscarried and was going to Balboa Hospital for a procedure. She needed a ride home, so the Military Relation Missionaries were called. Being that it was a woman thing, I went to sit with her and take her home. The tender mercy was in being able to drive there, park, and find her building and room. Usually we can sneak right into a parking spot for the disabled. However, I refuse to do that when I’m not with Elder Johnson. I drove in circles for a while and was frustrated to the point of tears. So, I prayed for help. Seconds later, a car pulled out of a parking spot on the main level (which made it that we could walk back easily). Then I asked a fellow in medical attire where in the heck the building was that I needed to get to. He was going to the exact same place I was! Blessings come for small favors as well as large.

Last week we found ourselves in the emergency room with a suicidal Marine. He had stabbed himself with a survival knife as a cry for help. As is custom in emergency rooms, it was a long wait before the doctors came and evaluated him. Because we had built a good friendship with him, Elder Johnson was able to keep him quiet and helped calm his troubled mind for several hours. Mike never seemed to tire or lose patience. It was a blessing to see him in action, ministering in the Savior’s way.

There is this sickness that spreads like wildfire through the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. It comes in every Sunday with the guys that have been in training for about three weeks. They are sniffling and sneezing and blowing their noses all over the place. And they have no voices. They have been yelling "sir, yes, sir" for the better part of a month, under great physical and emotional stress and their bodies just can't fight the bug. I call it the Recruit Crud. And even though we have tissues and hand sanitizers and garbage cans all over the auditorium where church is held, the "bug" metastasizes, and we got it. I don't know how, though. It's a huge room with no heat and all of the doors wide open. How a germ could grow in the sub Arctic temperature is amazing to me!

Mike spent the first week of the month sick and I followed suit. We had a few days of doctor visits and just hanging around trying to feel better. We are on the mend and up and doing again.

Well enough to have some wonderful time with visitors! My sister, Catherine, came for a few days.  It was a welcome visit. There isn't a whole lot of "girl time" here. And there is nothing like having one of my sisters. The highlight of May was Alice!! And Jesse and Mikaela. They were here Memorial Day weekend, so we did a bunch of patriotic things. The Midway, Rosecrans National Cemetery, and of course the beach and Cabrillo National Park. We love to go to each of these places and our visitors give us a great reason to go again and again.

BIG SISTER, CATHERINE

MEMORIAL DAY AWAY FROM HOME

I love watching the recruits. I walked out of church the other day and there was a platoon of brand spanking new ones that the drill sergeant had lined up right next to the wall--with their noses turned to it. I tried not to giggle as I passed them. I don't know how long he had them standing like that!  It is wonderful to see "our" church member recruits change in their thirteen weeks of training. They come in wondering what they have gotten themselves into, and leave as confident, upright, polite, and I must say handsome Marines. (especially in their dress uniforms, Charlies) In the final Sacrament Meeting before they graduate they stand and bear witness of the power of prayer and how they have felt the Savior strengthen them in their training. This week we said goodbye to the first group that we met back in February. I am so proud of them and just want to cry when I see them walk off with their families after our Cake Cutting Ceremony.

We love our mission more and more as time goes by. We love the people that we get to work with. We love being close enough for our family to visit. We love our great country and our flag and what is stands for. We love our servicemen and women.  We love our missionaries. We love serving the Lord.

OUR FAVORITE TRIO