April 30, 2018

April 24, 2018 Graduation

Charlene and Gramps at

Thanksgiving Point

Brad's Orchid

San Onofre NMCRS 

Team Volunteer Award

Diane, Julianne and Donna

NMCRS

Birthday Party at

San Onofre NMCRS

Spring walk

Spring hills near our apartment

April 30, 2018

Gray May has arrived a little early in California.  Most mornings are overcast but it burns off.  We visited several Marine families on base and took them each a bag of fresh fruit. We stopped by Ralph's to pick up the produce and a nice young lady stopped and asked us where we were serving.  She previously investigated the church and was very friendly.  We really enjoyed visiting with her.  We were stopped two additional times in the store and asked questions about our mission.  That was fun.  Both of the marine families we visited Monday have gluten allergies.  They really appreciated receiving goodies they could eat. They appreciated us stopping by and we had a nice chat with both of them.  Since we visited on our way to our missionary correlation meeting, we had an extra half hour so we drove to the beach and watched the surfers--the ocean is so relaxing.

Graduation on Tuesday was pretty standard.  After we finished there, we took the missionaries to Panda Express (their request) for lunch.  Funny, the girl we had met at Ralph's the day before sat next to us at Panda so we could introduce her to the missionaries--a tender mercy.  Worked hard at FAM, as always.  Our contractor sent us the final estimate for our house.  I think we are ready to move forward with it.  They should break ground in the next 30 days.  My friend Charlene sent us a picture of her with Grandpa at Thanksgiving Point enjoying the Tulip Festival.  She said she had to chase down his golf cart but was so excited to say hello to him and meet Denise and David.  It's such a small world.

I've included a picture of Brad's orchid.  We were given the orchid as a gift when we first arrived.  I was ready to throw it out after the blooms died last year.  But, Brad has worked patiently with it--washing the leaves and buying special food to nurse it back to life.  He was so excited when another bloom appeared this week.  A great example of how ministering can bring renewed life.  I'm glad he didn't give up on the plant.

Things were very slow at the NMCRS.  I was thankful I got to teach Budget for Babies.  Those classes are always fun.  Talking with expectant parents is delightful.  

My birthday celebration on Thursday was wonderful.  After working at the Thrift Store, Elder Halvorsen took me shopping and picked out some fun spring clothes for me.  We went to Subway for lunch (the first time since we've been in California) and finished up with an hour at the commissary.  I was thankful for all of the birthday wishes I received from friends and family.  Got to talk to most of our kids and that was very special.  I am so blessed.  We talked about honesty at ARP that evening.  Those meetings allow people the opportunity to share their inner feelings and the Spirit is always so strong.

Celebrations continued on Friday at the San Onofre Office.  They had made some lemon cake that was so delicious in my honor.  They are so thoughtful and I love lemon!!  This week the San Onofre Office won  the Camp Pendleton Team Volunteer of the Year Award.  This summarizes what was submitted to the selection committee:  The 25 volunteers at the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society San Onofre provided over 3,500 hours of service in 2017 to Marines and Sailors on Camp Pendleton.  With professionalism and compassion, they aided clients facing financial hardship by providing budget counseling and education, as well as issuing $942,415 in the form of interest free loans or grants.  Our volunteers enabled the office to assist 1,269 clients, all service members, veterans or their family members...Our volunteers are kind, supportive people who understand that juggling a military career and a balanced financial life is not always easy for our clients.  Through their attitude and sincerity, they reassure our clients that situations are not dire and help the service member get to a place where their full attention is back to their mission and not on financial worries at home.  It is a privilege to work with these wonderful people and help ease the burden of the Marines and their families.

Saturday it was time to get hiking again.  The hills are alive with beautiful spring flowers.  Such a lovely place to live.  We talked with Scott's family and congratulated Tate on his Grand Slam Friday night.  He is such an amazing baseball player.  Hazel was preparing for a dance recital Saturday night.  Eric's family called to show us Kaden's tanned raccoon--it was huge!  They are coming for a visit tomorrow and we can't wait to give them all big hugs.  We saw pictures of Dylan, Emma and Aspen in the dress rehearsal for their spring ballet based on Alice in Wonderland--the girls are such beautiful   dancers.  We got to talk with Boyd's family on Sunday before they hosted Grandpa at a Fireside in Bountiful.  Modern technology is such a blessing to senior missionary couples.  I don't know what we would do without smart phones and FaceTime.

We had a fabulous Sunday at the Basilone Branch.  Nine Marines attended the morning services and three of them brought their families.  Sister Dawson was one of our guest speakers.  She spoke about hope.  She is a wonderful speaker and her thoughts are always so inspiring.  In the evening, Elder Halvorsen had arranged for Grayson Lee (a senior NCO in our ward) to speak at the Fireside.  He spoke from his heart and shared what he felt the SOI students needed to know to be successful and what he wished he would have known as a Marine.  He challenged the marines to develop good habits--eat healthy, exercise and develop their faith.  He said he wished he would have known how far reaching his example would be.  He said fellow Marines gauge their moral conduct on what you do.  If the "Mormon" swears, then they can be a little more vulgar.  He said he has seen how his behavior directly impacts the behavior of his Marine brothers.  Lastly, he testified that the most important thing they should do is live worthy to always have the Spirit as their companion.  All of the Marines were tuned in to his message.  

After the meeting, I was thrilled when some of the Marines asked us for help.  One needed a package mailed to his girlfriend for her birthday.  Another asked if we could find a marking pencil he could use for his scriptures.  A third, a returned missionary who served in Italy, asked if we could locate a copy of the Book of Mormon in Italian so he wouldn't forget the language.  We received an email from a mom in Hawaii who was concerned about communicating with her son--she will send his letters to our address and we will deliver them to him  It was such a wonderful reminder that we truly are helping these young men while they are here at the School of Infantry.  We love serving.