July 30, 2018

Spencer Bradley's Graduation

Elder & Sis Halvorsen, Spencer, his parents

Elder McMillan and Elder Pack

Sister Clark--a great hostess

Dinner at the Clark's with missionary couples

Sister Carver

24th of July Celebration at the Clark's Home

July 30, 2018

Other than the 24th of July, our week was pretty uneventful.  However, July 24 was really busy.  We had two graduations in the morning.  We were disappointed that Alpha Company didn't rally for a picture but we were thrilled that they graduated.  We met up with Spencer Bradley and his parents and got them in a photo.  Spencer has been here for about 5 months so he was thrilled for graduation day. After graduation we worked at FAM and then drove to the Mission Home for a 24th of July celebration with the senior couples.  It was fun to get to know the Carvers who just arrived from Ogden, UT.  They are serving as MLS missionaries and have been reassigned to California from a mission in the Philippines for health reasons.  After a delicious meal, we shared stories of pioneer ancestors.  It was a lovely evening.

I had the opportunity to train another new volunteer at NMCRS.  It's so nice there is a constant flow of new volunteers to replace those who have moved this summer.  Kerah is a young military spouse.  She was excited to hear about our mission and how we are serving in the area.  She did a short mission to the Philippines with her Baptist youth group.  On the way home, we bought some ice cream treats and stopped by the Searls' to wish them a safe trip.  When they didn't answer their door we went to a  nearby beach and waited for 1/2 an hour.  When we returned, their car was gone so we missed them--so disappointed.  We did get to talk to Grant Wednesday evening.  They had a great trip to North Carolina to celebrate their wedding anniversary.  On the way home they missed their flight in Minnesota so they got to spend an evening at Heidi's house--we were jealous.

After a sorting day at the Thrift Store, we stopped by the Searls' again--this time with muffins.  And, we did get to see them!!  They still don't have a job lined up yet but they were optimistic about the future.  They moved out on Friday.  We will miss them.  We attended a fabulous ARP.  Some of those in attendance were celebrating 3 months of sobriety.  It was thrilling because we were there at their very first meeting and have been praying for their recovery.  Such a happy day for them.  Boyd and Cathy celebrated their 22 wedding anniversary--not sure how the years have flown by that fast.  They are a great team and we love them very much.  We were so sad to hear that Cathy's father has been diagnosed with cancer.  We will be praying for him and their family.

We FINALLY got the HOA's approval for our house.  Not sure what we will be doing now but it is approved if we decide to move forward.  Yahoo!!  We worked with Julianne at the San Onofre Office Friday.  She had applied for a job that she is totally unqualified for.  We were laughing hysterically after her phone interview.  She is so enthusiastic and smart I think she could learn any job and do it well.  We'll see what her future holds.  Daniella was there working too.  She mentioned she'd just finished a online Korean course through BYU so that opened up a great discussion about missionary work and language training.  We are having such amazing opportunities to share the gospel while we volunteer.  It's really fun.

We took time to clean the apartment on Saturday and had a lovely walk through the mountains nearby.  

Sunday Michi Stephens and George Richards spoke in our morning meeting.  Michi talked about handling stress and shared her conversion story.  She is such a wonderful person.  Bro. Richards spoke about making smooth transitions in our lives. After our meeting with the San Clemente Ward, we were walking to the car and the Herzog kids jumped out of their car and chased us down because they wanted to give us hugs.  That was a sweet experience--love that family.  Spoke with Heidi and Scott's families.  They both have such wonderful children that fill our lives with joy.  We picked up Bradley to go with us to the Fireside where Bro. Manning (high council) encouraged the marines to read the Book of Mormon.  We had 30 marines who are not yet members of our Church so it definitely provided them food for thought.  It was a great meeting.

July 23, 2018

Zone Conference July 17, 2018

Zone Title of Liberty

Hawaiian Haystacks for lunch

President and Sis Clark with departing sister

ASYMCA Brunch--Mark across from Elder Halvorsen

Traffic Jam after cake cutting

Scenic Drive from San Diego

Encinitas

Antique Car Show in Encinitas

Coast Highway 101

Carlsbad

Concrete Beach Set Up

Sister Halvorsen at Concrete Beach with Alpha Company

Spencer Bradley and parents

July 23, 2018

It's been an emotional week.  We were devastated to hear Chelsey's mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer. We know Chelsey's unwavering faith and support will help Barb throughout her treatments.  We wish we were there to help in some way but will add our faith and prayers for Barb's quick and complete recovery. 

We worked at the FAM Thrift Store on Monday due to a conflict with Zone Conference.  Funny how strange it feels when your schedule is altered.  Bro. Lang had to cancel our missionary correlation so the entire day felt off.

Zone Conference on Tuesday was outstanding.  Most of the training was centered on working with members and strengthening their commitment to missionary work on the ward level.  The goal of missionaries is to assist members in inviting their friends and neighbors to come unto Christ.  Most of the training was presented by Elders and Sisters who will soon be completing their missions.  It is amazing how much they grow in the two years they serve.  They become inspirational leaders.  We enjoyed meeting our new MLS couple--the Carvers from Ogden, Utah.  We heard 11 departing missionary testimonies.  Each was heartfelt and very moving.  Love to hear them testify of what they have learned from serving others.  The meeting didn't conclude until 4 pm so we barely made it home in time for the appointment I had to get my hair cut.  I just couldn't manage long hair in the heat.  We were thrilled to talk to Chelsey that evening to wish her a Happy Birthday.  We are so thankful to have her as part of our family.

Wednesday we attended a brunch sponsored by the ASYMCA at Panera Bread.  We met with our friends who volunteer to help at Concrete Beach.  We sat by Mark Bramson and had a delightful conversation with him.  Mark is Jewish and has had a number of LDS friends who have been a great example to him.  We enjoyed having a gospel centered conversation while we ate.  That evening we delivered no-bake cookies to two new military families in our ward--Stiefvaters and Williams.  Loved getting to know them.  Bro. Williams met his wife while he was serving a mission in Mexico.  Sister Williams told us how her great grandmother was the first member in their city.  She housed the missionaries and protected them from those who wanted to harm them--fascinating story.  It's such a treat to spend time with these wonderful marines and their families.

I cashiered at the NMCRS Thrift Store and when I opened the "change" bag I was $50 short.  I was so thankful Cheryl had been standing with me as I opened the bag.  When she called to report the missing money I heard her say--This is Gaylene we're talking about.  There is no way she would be taking any money.  It made me feel so nice to be known as a person of integrity who could be trusted.  There were only two marines at the Cake Cutting in San Diego, but they were excited to be graduating.  Ate with the senior missionaries at our favorite Cafe Rio and then we headed to the freeway.  However, there had been an accident and there was going to be a 90 minutes delay.  So, our expert driver found his way to Scenic Highway 101 and we drove along the coast.  It was a beautiful drive.  In Encinitas there was an antique car show and cars were parked all along the main road.  Lots of tourists were checking them out.  Carlsbad was buzzing with tourists.  Looks like a very popular vacation spot.  We arrived home 12 hours after we left in the morning.  But, it was more enjoyable than sitting in a traffic jam.

We were able to serve at Concrete Beach for Alpha Company on Friday.  It was so fun to see our marines.  This is the group that Scott and his family welcomed on their first week to SOI and have been so faithful.  As we were setting up, Elder Halvorsen got to spend time with Mark--our Jewish friend.  I worked with Samantha--the program director.  She told me about a lot of services the Y provides on the base. She was very complimentary about the Military Relations Missionaries who have volunteered over the years.  It was nice to see what an impact missionaries have on those they serve with.  

Our shift started at the San Onofre Office at 1 pm Friday.  I was shocked when I hurried to the car to get my change of clothes and realized the bag had not made it to the car.  I made quite an impression walking into the office in my jeans.  The other volunteers were thrilled to know I don't wear skirts ALL of the time.  I had the opportunity to train a darling young woman named Danielle.  We had so much fun chatting and several of the marines who were waiting to be served joined in our conversations.  They were so funny.  It was a delightful day.

The weekend was pretty laid back.  We had a nice evening walk on Saturday.  We didn't want to go out until the temperatures dropped a bit so we enjoyed the cool evening air.  Sunday was our last Sunday meetings with Alpha Company. We got to meet Spencer Bradley's parents.  Spencer spent a lot of time in Lima because of an injury so we have gotten to know him really well.  He has been a faithful Priesthood holder who was always willing to bless the sacrament, attend the temple and share his testimony.  We will really miss him and the other marines in that group.  They will graduate on July 24.

July 16, 2018

Elder McMillan--Newest SOI Elder

Elder Pack and Elder McMillan

Nathaniel Smith (far right)--Honor Man

Natalie Olsen and Nathaniel Smith

July 12, 2018 MCRD Graduation

Elder Sattley presented the marines challenge coins

July 16, 2017

Monday we had a delightful visit with Hannah and Matt Frost.  They are both from Wyoming and this is Matt's first assignment.  Hannah is a nurse and she is expecting their first child in August.  It's so fun to get to know our marines and their families.  We also got to talk to some of our family and enjoyed chatting with Heidi and her boys.  They are officially settled in Minnesota.

SOI Graduation was a huge success.  Nathaniel Smith was named the Honor Man for Golf Company.  Quite an honor to be the top man in a group of 238.  It was fun to visit with Nathaniel and his parents.  We were also able to congratulate Natalie Olsen and Ryan Aamodt for completing MCT.  Elders Pack and McMillan joined us for the ceremony.  Elder McMillan is from South Jordan, Utah has been working in the Chinese Zone so this will be quite a change for him.  We celebrated by taking the elders to Sonic for lunch.  We enjoyed talking with Scott and Beau.  Elder Halvorsen sent Beau a marine t-shirt and he thought that was terrific.

We enjoyed working with Megan and Carolyn at NMCRS--such fun ladies.  The color board Brooke put together for our new house was finally submitted to the HOA design committee.  We have run into some difficult times with our home.  Our general contractor has informed us that he is overbooked and he will be unable to work on our project.  We are carefully considering our options and what we should do.

It was wonderful to see our friends at MCRD again.  There were three graduates and their families present--sharp young men.  After the cake cutting, we found Cash Sales and were able to find a pair of marine combat boots for Scott's boys.  Elder Halvorsen can only purchase one pair per visit so we will need to make several more stops to fulfill their order.  The boots are inexpensive because they were originally used by recruits who didn't make it to graduation so they were gently used.  We met with the senior missionaries at Cafe Rio.  It seems like whenever we are meeting at that restaurant someone talks with us.  This week a darling young woman who will soon be serving a mission in Berlin stopped at our table.  It was so fun to meet her and feel her enthusiasm for her upcoming mission.  We also received the good news that a new couple will be coming to serve at MCRD when the Kapololus return to Hawaii in November.  Unfortunately, we still don't have a replacement for us yet.  We received a message that there are less than 50% of the senior missionaries requested for 2019 who have been assigned.  We have been asked to encourage our friends and loved ones to serve--you'll be glad you did!

Friday started off quite promising, but as I did my regular exercises my sciatic nerve was irritated again.  Oh, that is so painful.  Although we volunteered at the NMCRS, people could tell I was in pain.  I was thankful when that assignment ended.  We had to stop by the commissary on the way home and ran into Jayde Lee.  She is such a darling marine spouse and a great example to the younger wives.

Saturday we were scheduled to take three marines to the temple.  Unfortunately, none of them were able to leave the base.  That is always so disappointing.  But, it was the best for me.  I ended up spending the entire day in bed.  The pain is not bad when you are laying down so that is a blessing.  But standing up was excruciating.  However, I was able to receive a blessing and while scanning Facebook I found a stretch for my exact problem (a tender mercy).  Sunday morning I couldn't believe it when I could get out of bed without any pain.  It was a miracle.  I was able to complete all of my assignments without any discomfort.  Saturday was the Halvorsen family reunion.  Eric and Scott's families were able to attend and reported that they had a great time.  Thanks to Marilyn for planning such a terrific activity.  We really were sorry we weren't there to visit with the Halvorsen Clan.

We spent much of Sunday worrying about our future home.  Got some great advice from Eric and Chelsey.  We will be talking with their neighbor who is a contractor in Midway about the possibility of him helping us.  We are also looking at the prospect of purchasing an existing home.  We are sad that our thoughts have been diverted from our missionary efforts.  Hopefully things will sort out soon so we can focus on what is really important.  We enjoyed hosting 41 marines at our fireside.  The Spanish ward provided a fabulous meal of Santa Maria BBQ, potato salad, baked beans and rolls.  Everyone loved the food.  What a treat.  Bro. Jolley was the fireside speaker and he provided some wonderful insight into how Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream relates to history.  It was a fascinating presentation. 

July 9, 2018

San Clemente Ward

4th of July Breakfast

Steve Lang and his daughter Chelsea

Belle (Lang's dog) at the Park

Sis. Beckett and Sis. Lang

Tiffany Herzog and children

Kaden Colman

Bishop Howard

Time for Pancakes

Eric & Chelsey's 4th of July Party

Beau, Tige, Tate and Kaden

Dylan, Emma, Ivey, Aspen, Gwen

Reese and Hazel

Great Fireworks in Highland, UT

Purple tree--

We see these everywhere in California--so beautiful.

Farewell to Elder Sanford (far left)

July 9, 2018

We started the week off by celebrating the renaming the San Onofre NMCRS to Camp Pendleton North NMCRS.  We had a ribbon cutting with BBQ hot dogs and cake.  We got to eat with some of the volunteers we don't get to see often--Diane, JT and Walt.  It was fun to share time with them and celebrate the name change that Donna has been working on for months.  At our missionary correlation meeting, Bro. Lang presented an idea that had been discussed at a stake missionary meeting.  He challenged the missionaries to take dinner to part-member families and spend time with them.  We reviewed the ward list for possible couples for them to meet with.  It will be fun to see what kind of results they have with this new approach.

We found out at the last minute that Fox Company was graduating on Tuesday.  (We thought it had been changed to Thursday because of the holiday).  So we quickly rushed to the parade field for the event.  We set an appointment to meet with Bro. and Sis. Frost next week and talked to Eric's family before going to FAM.  Brad unloaded a huge truck that afternoon--he was plenty tired when we got home.

Happy 4th of July!!  I've included a number of pictures taken at the ward breakfast that morning.  Bishop Howard gave a brief talk about the constitution and the scouts did an excellent job with the flag ceremony.  It was fun to eat with our friends.  After the breakfast we Skyped with Eric's family as they were preparing to host a family 4th of July party at their home. They had a huge water slide and hundreds of fireworks to share with Scott and Boyd's families.  It was fun to Skype throughout the day and enjoy some family fun.  Loved getting pictures from Chelsey.   That evening we went to the San Clemente Stake Center to watch fireworks.  Last year they were fantastic!!  This year, there was a big dark cloud that blocked our view.  It was so strange.  We were glad there were multiple fireworks displays going so we could watch some a little further away.

Our schedule was definitely altered this week with the 4th of July celebrations.  The Thrift Store was closed so we were able to go to Delta's graduation.  Afterwards we took Elder Sanford and Elder Pack to Bonzai Bowls for lunch.  It was Elder Sanford's last graduation--he will complete his mission on July 10.  The ARP topic was receiving personal revelation.  We were reminded we can do all things with guidance from the Holy Ghost and faith.  We were excited to talk with Susie and Kate and wish them both a Happy Birthday!!  We feel so lucky to have them in our family.  Kate is 14 this year.  The grandchildren are all growing up too quickly.  

July 6 was a record breaking scorcher.  It was 20 degrees above normal.  It felt like we were in an oven.  On top of that, there was a large fire at Camp Pendleton and some of the residents   near Lake O'Neal had to be evacuated.  It was quiet at NMCRS.  On our way home we took some muffins to the Meades but didn't find anyone home--disappointing.  

It was too hot to go outside on Saturday.  I exercised in the apartment but we didn't want to chance going on our normal hike.  We were hoping Sis. Aebischer would stop by to say good-bye (she returns home next week) but it must have been too hot for them too.  We will really miss this sweet sister.

Sunday I had the opportunity to teach the marines at our morning meeting.  The topic was Facing the Goliaths in our Lives.  It was a lesson the marines could really relate to--it was sad we only had three in attendance.  We had a much better turnout in the evening--a record breaking 69 were there.  But, it was so hot in our poorly air conditioned chapel that they wore t-shirts instead of their regular cami uniforms.  We had a retired marine speak and he centered his comments on the importance of choosing good friends.  He said each marine is a hero and challenged them to be a light to their platoons.  We were happy to welcome back the Mannings and Jolleys from their vacations.  We had missed them.  We had a final picture with Elder Sanford.  He will fly home to Houston on Tuesday.  He has been a dedicated missionary and has willingly shared his talents and testimony.  We will miss him.

July 2, 2018

Final Temple Trip with Missionaries

Completing Their Missions in July

Elder Halvorsen at Newport Beach Temple

Hiking Trail--Things are Dry

Johnson boys ready for fun in Minnesota.

Can't wait to visit them!!

July 2, 2018

We took dinner to the Colman family again Monday night.  Hopefully, Sister Colman will soon be able to care for her family as she would like to.  We finished reading The Kolob Theorem.  We had some great discussions regarding the ideas outlined in the book.  Our missionary correlation meeting was cancelled so we had an extra evening at home.  The Kapololus let us know that it has become necessary to change the time for the MCRD cake cuttings so now it will be very difficult for us to attend on Thursdays.  We will miss our weekly meeting with our good friends in San Diego but Elder Halvorsen is not going to miss the drive each week.

Tuesday I finished reading the third volume of The Book of Mormon Made Easier by David Ridges.  I have really enjoyed those books.  In the final pages Mr. Ridges pointed out that Mormon wrote his epistle on faith, hope and charity when he was surrounded by evil.  We can personally be strong and faithful no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

One of the volunteers at the NMCRS was unable to be there on Wednesday so I got to fill in and teach Budget for Baby--my favorite volunteering activity.  I had a very interesting class and enjoyed it very much.  In the afternoon while Brad was doing casework, I worked with Carolyn and had the chance to teach her about ministering.  She was neglected as a child and has chosen not to have any children.  It was nice sharing with her examples of how our children parent and serve.  She was touched by how much time and love our children have to share with their families and minister to others.  

We had a huge sale at the Thrift Store.  All of the clothes were 25 cents.  One lady bought 200 garments to send to her relatives in Mexico.  She got a lot for her money today.  Even with the sale price, we collected over $1000 in 2 1/2 hours.  We sold a lot of merchandise.  Brad was extremely busy working on electronics.  He does such a great job assuring that all of the items we sell are in working order.  They really appreciate his service.  The Langs invited us to dinner at there home with the Elders.  Unfortunately, Sister Lang had hurt her back so we had Guicho's take-out.  It was delicious.  The Elders had an appointment so we got some time with Bro. Lang on our own.  He is so generous and has such funny stories of how he tries to help others.  It was a delightful evening.

We found out that the HOA in Midway had not approved our building plans again.  We have been trying to get the last approval to begin building and had sent several emails to make sure everything was in for that approval.  We were told today that the samples we had submitted were lost and we would need to resubmit everything to be reviewed the end of July.  I was so upset.  I started calling people on the HOA Board and let them know how frustrated we were.  They agreed as soon as we can assemble the samples again, they would hold a special meeting to approve our plan.  As I was tossing and turning during the night, I had the distinct impression that I should call Brooke Halvorsen Ellsworth and ask for her help.  What a blessing this turned out to be!!  Brooke has worked so hard to make sure we will have a beautiful home.We even ended up changing our stone once she took a picture of a house with the stone we had selected.  Although I was frustrated, I am sure this will end up being a tender mercy.  So thankful for Brooke.

On Friday, we adjusted our shift at San Onofre so we could attend the 3 pm temple session with the Elders and Sisters who will complete their missions in the next few weeks.  The session was packed and the Spirit was overwhelming.  These young missionaries truly have lived the temple covenants 100% during the last two years of their lives.  They have been so dedicated.  Besides the six senior couples and the 22 missionaries there was room in the session for a few more individuals. (Newport is a very small temple.) We were touched when we saw a recovering addict from our ARP class and his wife in the temple.  We had a wonderful opportunity to share our love with them.  It was a sweet experience.  After the session, Elder Halvorsen surprised me by driving to get a Papa Murphy's Pizza.  The restaurant is so difficult to reach it is really a challenge.  But, I appreciated his sacrifice and enjoyed every bite of my pizza.  

Saturday we were able to chat a little with Eric, Kaden and Gwen.  They were getting our car inspected in Utah.  We appreciate so much all of the time they have spent helping us while we have been serving in California.  Spent a lot of time working with Brooke on our house.  She is detail oriented and has thought of so many things we had missed.  Went for a hike up our nearby trail.  Everything is so dry.  We're hoping there won't be any wildfires this year in our area.  We are assigned to bring breakfast to the marines on Sunday so I prepared my French Toast Casserole to cook the next morning.

July started off with a bang.  We never oversleep, but we did a little Sunday morning.  I leaped out of bed to get my casserole in the oven and was very thankful it had enough time to cook before we had to leave.  There wasn't a crumb left so it was a hit.  We had a new marine at church--Boucher.  His father was an army officer and when we compared notes we found, like us, he had lived in Darmstadt, Germany and Colorado Springs.  It was fun to have that connection with him.  He's a wonderful young man.  Because of holiday leave, we had a very light turnout for our fireside.  Pres. Curtis Reece (former president of the San Clemente Stake) spoke.  He gave an excellent talk about the sacred covenants we renew when we partake of the sacrament.  He had special experiences he shared about tender mercies marines had received in order to partake of the sacrament in war zones and in the Basilone Chapel over the last 20 years.  

Heidi and her family have moved to Minnesota.  We're thankful their move went well and they will have the chance to establish new friendships.  From the picture they sent, it looks like their home is going to be the perfect fit for their family.

As we prepare to celebrate July 4,  we are so grateful for those who serve our nation today and those who have served to maintain our freedom throughout our country's history.  So blessed to be an American and thankful to be serving with the marines here at Camp Pendleton.