October 30, 2017

Hutchings' Deck

Phil and Dianne Woolley

Elder Pack and Elder Haycock

October 30, 2017

This week had a lot of twists and turns that we didn't plan on.  But, we are learning to be flexible.

On Monday, we the pleasure of meeting some dear friends from Draper in San Clemente at their daughter's beach house.  It was so exciting to spend time with Clark and Regina Hutchings.  Brad was their home teacher for many years and just loves this couple.  Clark has been working on remodeling the house for years so it was thrilling for Brad to see what he has been working on.  The house is amazing and as you can see from the picture, it is right on the beach by Tressels (a famous area for surfing).  It definitely has a million dollar view of the ocean.  They shared a famous Julian apple pie and sent us home with some wonderful eggs from Pine Hill Egg Ranch.  But, the treat was just spending time with them.

Tuesday we had a fun experience at graduation.  A mom recognized us from a former cake cutting and came up to introduce herself.  Her son--Brett Schow--graduated with India Company that day and is now heading to North Carolina.  It is nice that we are making these connections so the marines and their families know we really care about them. 

We received a cute letter from Heidi and her boys that included a packet of dried leaves.  I've been complaining that I was missing autumn so they sent me a little glimpse of autumn to savor.  So sweet of them.  It was Reid's first birthday this week.  Can't believe how quickly that year has flown by.  We were in Iowa last year at this time enjoying a real autumn!!  Reid got a fish for his birthday and such cute pictures were shared of him being fascinated by his gift.  Kent and Owen had a few days off of school so the family visited the zoo and sent some darling pictures.  

We're are missing seeing our grandchildren participate in autumn sports. and activities.    Congratulations to Sadie's volleyball team for taking first place in her rec tournament--largely due to her great serving.  Luke's team ran into some 6 ft. tall 6th graders who beat them in the tournament.  But, we're happy he is enjoying the game.  Kate is preparing for her dance competition. Scott's family was busy with football, basketball, softball and Hazel had a dance recital (loved seeing her in costume).  Eric's boys are playing football and soccer games.  Boyd's girls are dancing.  We're sure missing seeing all of these great events.  Love all of our grandchildren so much.

Had a rough week dealing with my cold but I am finally feeling back to normal.  So, it's all OK.  Because I was under the weather I only worked 1/2 the day at the Relief Society on Wednesday.  Read a book while Brad fulfilled his volunteer responsibilities.  Glad they are flexible.  

Thursday we drove to the Thrift store to find that there was an emergency closing because of a water problem.  However, we were able to buy a cute 3 ft. Christmas tree that will add some holiday spirit to our apartment this year.  Since we had driven to main side to volunteer, we took advantage of time to shop at the large commissary and stock up our shelves. We also drove around part of the base we had never explored before and discovered where Edson Range is located. (Our marines do part of their training there.)  Luckily there was no cake cutting that day so we didn't have to drive back to San Diego.

Saturday we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went on a great hike for our p-day.  We also watched a little football (finally a win!) and saw Brad's Dodgers in the World Series.  It's kind of exciting to be in California with the Dodgers in the Series.  Hoping they can pull off the victory.

It was certainly sad saying goodbye to Phil and Dianne Woolley on Sunday.  We are going to miss this optimistic, energetic couple.  In her final talk, Dianne quoted from The Sound of Music the following:  "A bell is no bell 'til you ring it.  A song is no song 'til you sing it.  And, love in your heart wasn't put there to stay.  Love isn't love 'til you give it away."  The Woolleys know how to give away love.  They have been such great mentors and friends.  They have served in the Basilone Branch for 6 years so they have touched the lives of thousands of marines.  We were shocked when we found out Elder Haycock was also leaving us.  He has been transferred to Newport Beach.  He is a wonderful elder and we have truly learned to love this young man.  Even though we had a fabulous turnout at church--19 marines in the morning and 39 marines at our evening meeting--it was a sad day to say farewell to good friends.

October 23, 2017

A replica of the Mission at

San Juan Capistrano

A fun P-day with

Elder and Sister Shelstad

Inside the cathedral

Remains of the chapel after

an earthquake in 1812

The old chapel

Sister Halvorsen and the bells

Elder Halvorsen with the bells

A courtyard--so pretty

A fun day

October 23, 2017

Last Monday we met our friends, the Shelstads,  for a p-day at the Mission of San Juan Capistrano.  The Shelstads welcomed us to our mission and helped us unload our car.  We wanted to visit the mission and decided to wait until the temperatures cooled off instead of going during the summer.  So, the day we finally met for our excursion, we had record-breaking heat of 95 degrees.  The Shelstads finish up their mission in November so it was our last chance to spend the day with them.  We did have fun, even though it was extremely hot.  The grounds of the mission are beautiful.  It was also fun to find out the stories connected to the names of the streets and towns in our area.  Pico (the major street we travel every day) is named after a Spanish governor of the area.  He actually sold the mission to his brother-in-law for $710 (it was valued at $55,000).  Apparently, politicians haven't changed much over the years.  Forester Ranch is named after the brother-in-law.  We spent several hours wandering the grounds and then went to lunch at Hapa J's.  (The Elders tell us this is one of the favorite missionary restaurants).  We ate "man fries"--a concoction of fries, pulled pork, onions, cheese and BBQ sauce.  One serving fed all four of us--with leftovers.  I'd really like to see the Elder who can eat the entire dish.  

Tuesday after graduation we took our Elders to lunch.  They are a fun companionship--Elder Haycock and Elder Pack.  They are working with two marines who are preparing for baptism.  We are  praying they continue to progress.  I made pumpkin cookies in the afternoon and we took them to a family that evening--the Coleman's.  Sister Coleman is facing some major health issues but she was so optimistic.  They have some darling boys that reminded us of our grandsons who we miss so much.  They are athletic, smart and charming.  We are going to try to be fill-in grandparents for them while they are here.  At the end of our visit, Brad mentioned that he had been in the medical service corps in the Air Force.  They said that Sis. Coleman's cousin was in medical school with the Air Force.  When we compared notes, we discovered he is Robby Sorenson's (our nephew's) best friend and study buddy in medical school in San Antonio.  It is such a small world.

Our work at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society went better this week. The Budget for Baby class was small but fun and I'm improving my cashier skills at the Thrift Store.  This week we had a General's wife donate evening gowns for the Marine Ball.  The gowns still had their tags on for $250-$500.  We sold them for $10 each.  The marine wives who bought them were so appreciative and giddy with excitement.  It was a fun day to be at the register and see all of their big smiles. 

The Cake Cutting at MCRD was enjoyable.  We were able to meet four marines and their very large families.  It's neat that grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters come with the marine's parents to celebrate their graduation.  After the cutting, we enjoyed dinner with three senior couples.  It's always one of our favorite activities of the week.

Friday I met Sister Lundquist to pick up some of her family names for the marines to use when we went to the temple on Saturday.  I discovered my texts to the marines work much better when I'm texting from the Albertson's parking lot down the street.  A nice discovery.  I received a text from Sister Terry, my Relief Society President in Draper, concerning the Hammer Family.  Frank had surgery and was recovering and Sue's brother had been in a terrible car accident.  I felt so blessed to be able to communicate with Sue and give her my love and support.  Visiting Teaching binds our hearts with love.  We do love this family and pray they will be blessed throughout this trial.

Saturday was a disappointing day.  We had three marines scheduled to go to San Diego with us to the temple.  We were going to meet the Sattleys and Kapololus there to attend the session with us.  When we were in the car and on the way to pick them up, we got a message that their liberty had been cancelled and they couldn't go off of base.  We later found out a piece of equipment was missing and no one could leave until they were able to recover it.  So disappointing because these men graduate next week and this was probably their last chance for a temple trip.  We were also scheduled to meet with the Hutchins from Draper that evening and they needed to cancel because of sickness.  Our exciting day came to a screeching halt.  We did get in a nice hike but we were certainly disappointed that our other plans fell through.  

Sunday I started getting sick again.  I'm praying it won't get as bad as it has been in the past.  We did have some great Sunday meetings which helped.  Some of the talks centered around reading the Book of Mormon, building our faith on the rock (our Savior), personal conversion and prayer.  At our evening fireside we met an outstanding marine who is interested in the church who has ties to Holladay, Utah--where I grew up.  He was delightful.  We found out one of the couples serving in the Branch has been released.  We are really going to miss Phil and Dianne Woolley but they have been serving the marines for five years so I guess it is time for them to have a new challenge.  How we have grown to love them.  

October 16, 2017

Lehman graduated with Charlie Company

We celebrated Lehman's graduation

with Elder Pack and Elder Haycock

October 16, 2017

I'm a little short on pictures this week.  I'll try to do better next time.  Monday we drove to Pres. Hobbin's home for a senior couples FHE.  We sat with Elder and Sister Foster who are serving as self-reliance missionaries for four missions.  (They do a lot of driving).  They are from Colorado and are a wonderful couple.  I had read the October Ensign that morning and it had lots of information about the new self- reliance program.  It was interesting to hear from them how the program is being implemented in California.  It sounds like it is going to be powerful in the lives of those who participate.  Our FHE lesson was taught by Sister Kimball and was based on Jesus the Christ--Chapter 3 which outlines the need for Christ as our Redeemer.  Christ volunteered to atone for our sins.  Free agency is an essential part of the God's plan even in the pre-existence.  We discussed some interesting thoughts that I had not considered before.  We thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Tuesday we celebrated Rob Lehman's graduation.  He has become a dear friend and we are going to miss him.  It was also October 10 and a day to celebrate Grandpa and Kaden's birthdays.  Grandpa turned 97 and went horseback riding for the event.  (Unbelievable!)  Kaden won a soccer game and bought some new fishing tackle. (He's takes after Grandpa and is becoming quite the fisherman).  We love them both very much.

Wednesday was a day full of service.  After working 8 hours at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, they asked me if I could stay to teach the evening Budget for Baby class because the instructor was ill.  Of course, I agreed.  But after the class ended at 7:30 pm, we were both exhausted.  I love teaching, but 12 hour days are a thing of the past for us. We got home at 8:30 pm and were back at the Thrift Store the next morning at 9 am.  They decided it was time for me to train as a cashier.  I took in over $600 in 2 1/2 hours.  Which wouldn't be hard if most of the items weren't twenty-five cents.  That's a lot of items.  By the time I finished checking out, it was 1:30 pm so we didn't have enough time to drive to San Diego for Family Day.  It was very disappointing to miss that activity.  We'll have to figure out how we can do it all.  We came home and crashed after two stressful and long days of service.

Friday after communicating with all of our marines, we headed to another afternoon at the San Onofre Relief Society.  We were told we had completed 90 days and our trial period was over.  So, we signed a contract to volunteer for another full year.  When the contract is over, we will actually only have a few weeks left to complete our mission.  The time is flying by quickly.

The San Clemente Ward had a chili-cook off on Saturday night.  I made chili--along with 10 other members.  We were so excited when we got to the church to be greeted by Sister Wright and her parents who were visiting from Utah.  Sister Wright is one of our favorite missionaries.  We sure miss working with her.  It was so fun to give her a hug and catch up on what she is doing now that she has completed her mission.  The evening just got better when the Muse family arrived at the party.  We visited them several weeks ago and invited them to come out to church.  Saturday was their first time in our chapel.  We sat with them and enjoyed fellowshipping them and their five children.  Hopefully, we will see them often in the future.  It was satisfying to know that our visits to less active marine families are making a difference.  Everyone needs to feel loved and included.  

October 9, 2017

President and Sister Clark (left)

California, Irvine Mission

Elder and Sister Chao's Farewell Dinner (left)

Elder and Sister Nygren (Office Couple)

Farewell dinner at Sam Woo

Nygrens, Brintons, Shelstads, Finlaysons

Sister Okine

Sattleys at our booth at the

Camp Pendleton 

Family Faith Fair

Dinner Lines at the Family Faith Fair

Lehman's Final Sunday at SOI

October 9, 2017

We certainly enjoyed our week.  We had lots of fun sharing meals with friends and family.  On Monday night, we were invited to attend the Empty Nester's FHE with the San Clemente Ward.  It was great getting to know these amazing people.  Bro Lusk had lived in the same house for 50 years and shared the history of the area with us.  Sister Lesueur shared stories of serving a mission with her husband in Texas in the same area that Brad had served.  Sister Human and Sister Foltz also were in attendance. The group was small but among them they had so much knowledge, it was fun to sit at the table with them.  We shared favorite conference thoughts for our FHE lesson.  

Tuesday was a real treat for us.  Denise (Brad's sister) and David were caring for their grandchildren in San Diego while Ryan and Nicki were at the Chaplain's Conference in SLC.   So, we met them for a session at the San Diego temple and then visited over lunch at the temple.  It was wonderful to see them and get to spend time with them.

Wednesday after working at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society we drove to Irvine to attend a farewell dinner for Elder and Sister Chao (office missionaries).  We ate at Sam Woo's and it was delicious! However, Brad did chomp on a stray shell and is hoping he doesn't have a cracked tooth. Had a delightful evening chatting with a new office couple--the Okine's from San Antonio Texas.

Thursday was more food--but this time we were serving it to the marines.  We set up a booth at the Family Faith Fair at Mainside Camp Pendleton.  Our mission provided some beautiful banners offering family history help for us to use.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of people come to the booth which was quite disappointing.  We set up the booth at noon and took it down about 6 pm.  So, it was a long day.  We did get to visit with the Sattleys, Sweetwoods and 10 Elders and Sisters from the Carlsbad mission.  Brad and I were able to serve with volunteers from a variety of faith groups and dish up dinner to about 500 marines and their families.  The Elders and Sisters were a big hit.  They served the folks in the dining tent and were able to talk with a number of people about our faith.  So, even though the booth wasn't a big hit, we did have the opportunity to serve and build relationships with faithful volunteers from other denominations.

Saturday the party continued with a Pot-Luck Dinner with the senior couples who serve in the Basilone Branch.  We met at the Weber's house and enjoyed their beautiful patio that backed on to a golf course.  The evening was gorgeous and the company outstanding.  We have really learned to love these great couples and enjoy serving with them.  We played some fun games and I actually won an electric Quesadilla maker.  Just what every woman wants. 

Sunday we said goodbye to Private First Class Lehman.  We have spent a lot of time with this young man driving him to YSA and enjoying a temple trip with him.  He has been faithful in attending our meetings and has been instrumental in bringing many of his fellow marines to our services.  He has shown how the example of one can make a big difference in the lives of those he associates with.  We're going to miss him.

We missed being with all of our family (except Heidi and Craig in Wisconsin) on Sunday to celebrate Grandpa's 97th birthday (October 10).  I'm so thankful they all took the time to be there.  We had a tender mercy as we met Bro. and Sister Manning on Sunday.  Bro. Manning is our new High Councilman.  When we met, he asked if we knew Gail Halvorsen.  When Brad acknowledged that he was Gail's son, Bro. Manning got tears in his eyes.  He said 38 years ago, he lived in Provo.  He and his new bride were in the Oak Hills First Ward when Grandpa served as the bishop.  He was called to serve as the Elder's Quorum President in that ward.  He proceeded to tell us how much he loved Grampa and how much he had learned from him about service.  "Each life that touches ours for good..." Another soul changed for the better because of Grandpa.  The world is definitely a better place because of Gail Halvorsen.  Happy Birthday!!  

October 2, 2017

Marine Corps Mechanized Museum 

on Camp Pendleton

WWI Ambulance

WWI Ambulance

Brad by Desert Storm Vehicles

Motorcycle

WWI Recruiting Poster

Let's get one of these to go to the cabin

This Four-Wheeler would be fun but

no protection if someone is shooting

at you.

Desert Ambulance

Ready for Land and Sea

Emma Dawson performed

in this play.

October 2, 2017

A new month.  We can hardly believe it is already October and we have been in the field for five months.  Time really moves quickly.  The weather has been lovely here, but I'm getting a little homesick when I see the autumn leaves on many Facebook postings.  I do love the autumn and am missing my beautiful red Sumac trees.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon again on Monday.  How I love that book.  Our mission was challenged to finish the book before our Zone Conference on Wednesday.  As part of the conference, many missionaries stood to share their testimonies of the book.  These Elders and Sisters are such amazing young people--so dedicated to helping others find true happiness.  It was announced that our mission would be one of two to become Smart Phone Missions.  Each missionary will be able to use a smart phone to post on social media and share information with their investigators.  The missionaries are going through extensive training on how to use technology appropriately.  It is an exciting time.  My favorite part of Zone Conferences is hearing farewell testimonies.  We had 10 missionaries in our zone who have completed their missions.  It is a privilege for us to be in attendance as they share what they have learned and how they have grown.  They have become true disciples of Christ.

We were very busy at the Thrift Store this week.  Many of the volunteers are out of town so there were only a few to accomplish a lot of work.  It felt rewarding to be able to help.  We did miss going to San Diego that day because there was no cake cutting this week.  Funny when your routine changes, it feels like you have missed something important.  Since we had a few extra hours, we went to the Marine Corps Mechanized Museum that we drive by every Thursday.  The building was filled with replicas of vehicles used in WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea and the Middle East.  I've included a number of pictures of vehicles we saw.  We thought our grandsons would have thought this was really cool.  

We supported one of our marine families Thursday night by attending the San Clemente High School production of Little Shop of Horrors.  While we were waiting for the play to begin, two darling teens came to talk with us.  They both gave me a big hug.  They looked like sisters but the younger girl (12) said they were almost sisters.  Their family introduced Grace (18) to the gospel by inviting her to watch General Conference last October.  Grace embraced the gospel and was baptized.  She is the only member in her family but loves the gospel.  Grace is living at home and studying to be a nurse at Saddleback College.  She was a darling young lady.  Such a treat to meet her.  Emma was one of the main characters in the play and did a fantastic job.  Her dad will return from deployment in 50 days.  So sad he wasn't here to see her performance.  But, soon he will be able to enjoy family activities again.

Friday after working at the Relief Society, we took some mint chocolate chip ice cream to Rooks (6) for his birthday--it's his favorite.  When we pulled up the yard was full of neighbors and friends who were there to celebrate.  Cute Rooks came over and gave me a big hug even before we gave him the ice cream.  He was just so pleased to have us there.  He is an adorable little boy.  His mom is expecting their 4th child this month and dad is deployed.  Rooks definitely has been the man of the house while his dad is gone.  He helps his mom with the younger kids and is so mature for his age. We love this little family.

Absolutely loved listening to conference on Saturday and Sunday.  We were thankful to be able to watch it on TV.  The talks were so inspiring to me.  I especially loved Elder Holland and Elder Christofferson's messages. Sunday the Basilone Branch met at 9 am and 7 pm for our regular meetings with the marines.  We had a wonderful testimony meeting in the morning.  I need to share a two of the testimonies the marines shared with us.

Sam never wanted to be a leader. He doesn't like to stand out and he wanted to be liked.  But, he was selected as a squad leader at MCRD and SOI.  Since he didn't have a choice, he decided he would try to be the best leader he can be.  He said he never wanted to feel guilty for leading his men in the wrong way.  He decided he needed to learn to lead as the Savior leads.  He has studied the scriptures intently and spent time on his knees.  He said he is thankful for the examples in the scriptures of men like Captain Moroni.  But, he is most grateful for the example of the Savior.  As he tries to follow his example he has found that his men have become loyal to him.  He can feel their trust and support.  

Hicken shared an experience he had at MCRD.  He was standing in line for a haircut and was talking to someone when he shouldn't have been.  So he was punished with extra physical training (IT).  Apparently this training is pretty tough.  As he arrived at IT, everyone else was leaving so he had the instructor all to himself.  The punishment was rigorous.  After he finished 15 minutes which seemed like hours, he went to get his stuff that he had emptied from his pockets.  That's when the instructor saw his Book of Mormon.  Hicken thought--this is my Ensign story.  The instructor is going to ask if it is true and I'm going to answer YES!!  But, instead the instructor yelled that he was not to carry religious materials with him.  Then he sent him back for an additional 30 minutes of IT.  As he had to suffer for having the Book of Mormon, Hicken thought of the Savior's suffering and that was helped him get through it.  He said if it was for the Book of Mormon and his faith, he could endure the suffering.  

It's been a great week.  Looking forward to experiences we will have this week.  Life is good.