This 'n' That

“Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility. Whatever our circumstances in life . . . let us do the best we can and cultivate a reputation for excellence in all that we do. Let us set our minds and bodies to the glorious opportunity for work that each new day presents.”

             President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign, Nov. 2009, 56

I love this quote that President Castro shared with us this week, so now I'm sharing it with you.

I'm happy to say that we still see Herby every day.  He is growing, too :)

We went to lunch at one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican places we have found.  They advertise out front that they serve authentic Mexican food, and they do and it is extremely good.  They also have several non-Mexican things on their menu.  Today we had a Cobb salad.  It was tasty, but I have to say, I prefer their chicken flautas.  They also have really good salsa :)  Well, where I'm going with this is, one of my teeth broke off at lunch today -- eating a salad!  I could see it if it had happened while I was crunching on some of the peanut M&Ms that Sister Blue has in a bowl here at the office.  Anyway, it is so annoying!  I have called the dentist office that Sister Castro recommended, but they are not open today.  Hopefully they will call tomorrow and I can get in rigth away!  Dang!

Remember Anthony?  The guy we met at Taco Bell the first or second week we were here who said he was interested in talking to us about the Church?  Elder Mecham has called him several times since then, and it seems he always has something going on that interferes with meeting with us.  He did tell Elder Mecham during one of their conversations not to give up on him.  A few weeks ago, he said he had broken up with his wife and that his car had been impounded.  Well this week, he actually set a time for us to meet him.  It was a bit strange - it was at the Marriott Hotel.  He said he was working there and for us to go in and just ask for Anthony.  Well, we went to the front desk, and they had never heard of him.  I figured he was somewhere getting a real big kick out of all this - that he was just pulling our chain, so to speak.  We sat out front of the hotel on a bench and waited about 15 minutes.  At one point we saw a black man in a light green suit walk out from the left to the parking lot and meet another guy.  I said, "Is that..?" And before I could finish, Elder Mecham said, "I don't think so!" because he didn't fit the mental picture. After a few minutes we started to walk to our car.  Elder Mecham saw another entrance to the building off to the left and we decided to just check it.  Sure enough, there was Anthony, looking all spiffy in a light colored green suit. (He said he had told Elder Mecham to go in at the left, and he probably did - Elder Mecham does miss quite a lot on the phone, as you probably already know.)  Anthony was about to begin a presentation regarding some multi-level company that he said he was working for and doing well in.  He said it wouldn't take long, and we could talk afterwards. 

So we stayed for the presentation.  (It reminded me of ACN.)  Anthony did a great job.  Then we listened to Mark, the "main" speaker, a multi-millionaire originally from England, now living in this general area. Then we waited while Anthony talked with some of his "team" for about a half hour.  Of course, I am thinking that he just wanted us to come hear the presentation and join his team :)  While we are waiting for Anthony, Mark comes up and speaks with us.  He is a very nice and friendly guy whose best man at his wedding a few years ago was a Mormon.  Finally, we really did have a very nice conversation with Anthony.  He and his wife are now back together, and he claims they are very interested in finding something stable and a religion for their family.  He said they had it narrowed down to two -- "us" and the Jehovah Witnesses, because we are both so passionate about our religion.  We left him with a couple of pamphlets and a Book of Mormon.  We invited him to church Sunday.  I would be really surprised if he showed up, but we are praying that he (and his wife) will come.  Hopefully our testimonies that we shared with him were enough to inspire him to read and pray and feel.  It turned out to be a pretty good experience after all.  I would not be honest, though, if I did not say that I still have a funny feeling that he really is just "playing" us.  Then I think, "Oh ye of little faith!"  Time will tell.

Take a look at Jacob 5:70-72.  This is regarding the servants sent to labor in the vineyard. That is all of us.  We see that the Lord is laboring "with us."  He does not expect us to do this alone.  He is there every step of the way.  I like that.  (Thanks for pointing this out, President Castro.)

Tonight Bishop Sweet wants us to meet with him and Brother Swingler, the ward mission leader (and perhaps others, I don't know).  I have "my" keyboarding class, but Elder Mecham will go.  It's a bit of a logistical problem as we will be at different church buildings, but we will work it out.  Did I remember to mention that we have been called as Ward Missionaries?

So, all the missionaries are being asked to remove the pictures of Christ from their apartment windows due to security and vandalism issues.  They need to have a safe place to rest at night without worry of being harrassed by anyone.  I am not certain if this is churchwide, but I am betting it is.  Sad.  Yes, we have had some apartments vandalized in this mission.  Another issue is hackers getting on the Internet with the sole purpose of finding the names of new converts or investigators or RMs or anyone they think they can get at with anti literature or for other evil designs.  I may have to make my blog a private one to decrease the chance that someone may look at it for names.  Again, sad!  Satan is working harder than ever to do whatever he can to thwart the work and to make souls as miserable as he is!

Three Hungry Boys

btw - our little bunny friend is now known as Herby Hopper (Herby, because he is an herbivore :)  Thanks, Brody, for the great name! 

Tonight we fed the elders that serve in our ward - they are a three-some.  And they are three BIG boys!  (Not even joking.)  They are great missionaries and appear to be having a good time together.   Missionaries in this area do not get fed potatoes very often.  Tonight we had a potato bar, which they said they enjoyed and appreciated. These are Utah and Idaho boys with big appetites.  I was kind of surprised - they all included green onions and green chilies and mushrooms on their potato (among other tasty items, such as sausage, sour cream, grated cheese, and olives).  Plus, they all ate peas and corn which we also had.  And they said they really appreciated the jello salad (no it was not green:) -- another thing they do not get fed here.  We had a fun evening together. LOVE the young missionaries!  (Dang! I should have taken their picture. Maybe I can add one later.)

Elder Mecham and I were going to drive to Lake Isabella tomorrow, which is in the furtherest corner of our mission, because Elder Mecham needed to pay for a P.O. Box before the end of the month.  Long story made short - he finally figured out how to do this online by using a personal credit card.  Hence, no 2 1/2 hour trip to Lake Isabella.  Dang - I was kind of looking foward to it. I hear it is a pretty drive from Bakersfield to there - a trip for another day :)

New Keys

Wednesday is usually laundry day - just the funnest date ever!  (I promise I will be so appreciative of our washer and dryer in our very own basement when we get home :)  So Wednesdays we go to the laundromat, and while the clothes are either washing or drying, we go to Ralph's (a grocery store).  Sometimes we go to theThai restaurant which is right next door to the laundromat and get a bite of dinner (yummy - that part is fun!).  Well last Wednesday Elder Mecham was gone - went to Bakersfield with Elder Blue.  They left early (6:30a) and got home late (about 7:45p).  So, nice girl that I am, I went to the laundromat and grocery store by myself -- not so much fun.  When I returned to the apartment, the big garage door was open and a lady I'd never seen before was unloading a bunch of stuff from her car into the garage.  (We share a two-car garage with another tenant in our four-plex.)  I hauled into our apartment two heaped laundry baskets and supplies and groceries (three or four trips from the car).  The lady was still adding to her pile in the garage, so of course I didn't close the garage door :) nor was there any need to open, unlock, or lock the side door to the garage - I gave no thought to that at all :(  I then busied myself putting away the groceries and folding the laundry, making up the bed with clean sheets; I made and ate a tunafish sandwich for dinner and prepared to iron Elder Mecham's white shirts.

Next morning as I am scurrying to get out the door, Elder Mecham informs me that he will back the car out of the garage (our routine - I follow and lock up the apartment, shut the garage door, lock the side door to the garage, and hop into the car).  Uh-oh!  Where are the keys to the garage?  NOT on their designated hook in the closet.  Yikes!  They are safely locked inside the car (their designated day-spot), but unfortunately, the car is now inside the locked garage. Not a good thing!  Elder Mecham has been saying ever since we began parking our car in the garage that we needed to get a couple more keys made to the garage.  Hello!  Yes indeed!  (You are right - if there is some way I can possibly blame this incident on Elder Mecham, I am going to do it :)  haha

Elder Mecham knocked on our neighbor's door to see if we could borrow their keys to "our" garage.  No answer.  We called Elder and Sister Blue - they were on their way to Camarillo to a doctor's appointment.  We called the APs - no answer.  (They returned our "We have a situation -- please call us asap" message at 3:30 p.m. - thanks, Elders!)  I went to the neighbor's door again - thankfully it was open - and they saved the day!  We weren't even that late getting to the office.  But I bet you can guess what we did on our lunch break Thursday.  Yup - a trip to Lowe's and two new keys to the garage!

Things Celestial

We celebrated three birthdays and a mission call Friday.  Both President and Sister Castro have birthdays in June as well as their daughter Hannah.  Joseph just received his mission call to Manchester England.  And you've seen Samuel previously, as he helps with car inspections as zone conferences.  Sister Blue and I had planned to just have refreshments after our staff meeting Friday, but Sister Castro did not accompany President that day. So he came back later in the afternoon and brought the fam.  It was a nice little get together.  They are such lovely people.  And they bear great responsibility and do it so well.  I cannot say enough good about them! 

Joseph has some "tall" genes somewhere in his ancestry :)

One of the very fine missionaries serving here, Elder Snelson, was "on leave" for six months following a nasty accident.  He fell while playing Frisbee golf on P day and hit his jaw on a cement curbing of some sort and shattered his lower jaw.  His injury was so bad that he couldn't travel for a few weeks and his mother had to come here.  Then they went home. President said this missionary wrote his weekly letter to him just as though he were still here.  And now he's back.  He's only been back for about three weeks, and a few days ago the screws in his jaw were coming out.  So now he's having to have some more work done.  Luckily, the dentist that treated him right after the accident is here and taking care of him. He was at church today, even though I think he's supposed to take it really easy for a while now.  He is training one of the new missionaries that just arrived.  Such a good missionary!

Our Furry Friend

A familiar sight from the office door these days  :)

Earlier this month and last we saw a larger bunny in the area, but lately it has not been around.  Recently we have seen this tiny little creature, especially in the mornings :) 

Up the Coast

(I must have been tired when I entered all this last night (Sunday).  Tonight (Monday) I have corrected at least a half dozen errors.  Good grief!)

Elder and Sister Blue and us had planned to take a day trip Saturday, sort of to celebrate Father's Day.  Even President Castro encouraged us to do some fun things together.  We had a couple ideas of what we wanted to do.  Then President Castro asked Elder Mecham to check out the vacant apartment in Morro Bay which the mission is paying for, because we have a lease on it.  So guess where we went Saturday?  Morro Bay!  And since it was mission business, we took the mission truck.  Long day in the truck, but we broke it up by stopping along the way to take care of other business.  First we delivered a bicycle to Elder Clark - newly arrived Monday.  He and his companion, Elder Eastman, serve in Santa Maria.

Then we needed to have Elder Simpson sign a check which he received because he got bumped on his flight to the mission on Monday.  That's right. (That is another story in itself -- it made for a very crazy day as Elder Mecham and Elder Blue had to make two trips to the Santa Barbara Airport.  It threw everything off schedule.)  Anyway, the check is pretty hefty -- nearly $800.  Elder Simpson signed it, and it will get deposited back into the church's travel funds.  He and his companion and two other elders live in a four-some in Arroyo Grande.  Here is their bedroom.  Yikes!  Hope they all get along :)

The pole lamp, seen at the extreme right, is being help up by the mattresses

Next stop -- San Luis Obispo.  We had a package for Elder Kotab, which came UPS.  We cannot, of course, forward those through US mail, so since we were passing through there anyway, we dropped it off.  Elder Kotab and Elder Hardy were doing a "service project," so we stopped at the place they were serving.  I did not take my camera in, but had I known where I was going, I surely would have.  The elders were organizing shelves of food storage for a children's nursing home.  LOTS of work!  We were invited in to meet the children.  What a touching, heart-wrenching, experience.  One of the kids, Zander, was strapped in a little wheelchair which he could maneuver around himself.  He was a cute little guy. Others were bedridden and extremely handicapped.  The nurse said one of these, a boy 16, had giggled earlier because he had the hiccups.  He could not talk. One little girl was strapped in a chair.  She was blind, but as Elder Hardy walked by her and touched her face and talked to her, she smiled broadly.  It was a clean place with bright and happy things about, and these children are being lovingly cared for.  It was so amazing!  You could feel their special spirits.  I should like to have had more time to spend there and talk to these children.

Outside in the back there was a bird aviary.  There were lots of parakeets, a cockateel, and a few other kinds of birds.  That's the way to have birds.  Outside, where you can enjoy their chirping and singing, and where they cannot make a mess all over your kitchen :)  Again, so sad I didn't have my camera.  We weren't there very long or I may have run and got it.  When will I ever learn that I must always carry it with me?!

On to Morro Bay.  It really is pretty there.  The vacant apartment was built by convert members, Brother and Sister Valerie, as a missionary apartment.  The Valeries live upstairs in a very lovely home which they remodeled.  It was decorated so creatively and beautifully.

View from the Valerie's balcony

California Poppies (first I've seen since we got here)

The apartment is downstairs with its own entrance.  It has been referred to as the "celestial kingdom" of missionary apartments.  It is small, but very nice and completely furnished for missionaries, including towels, bedding, a walk-in closet, washer/dryer, dishwasher, study desks, marble counter tops, laminate floors, two sinks in the bathroom, appropriate pictures, and homey touches and wall hangings.  Just so very nice.  The missionaries were pulled out of Morro Bay about three months ago.  It is such a resort town, that it was hard to find investigators that were there permanently, and there were other issues.  Hopefully we will be able to put some missionaries back in.

One of about ten pictures I took. 

Much nicer than our apartment.

I'm not complaining, just commenting.

No room for guests, though :)

Brother and Sister Valerie took us to lunch at Dorn's and we had the best fish and chips ever.  Someday, when we have a full day to make the trip back up the coast to the Hearst Castle, they said they can get tickets for us.  We definitely plan to do that sometime before the Blues go home! 

Outside of Dorn's Restaurant

On the way home, we stopped at Solvang, a little Danish community.  It is quite "touristy."  But we enjoyed it anyway and had some great ice cream :)   We were tired by this time and didn't stay too long.  Another day it would be fun to browse the shops (and spend some money :)

Missionary Mothers

I already told you about Sister Prete organizing a b-day party for her AP son.  It was approved by the President and totally okay and really fun. 

Then there is Sister Perez.  She called the office on a regular basis throughout the entire two years her son was here (I am told).  NOT okay.  One Monday (which is P-day for the young missionaries) Sister Perez called around one o'clock and wanted to know why she hadn't received an email from her son yet.  She always heard from him on Monday morning, so why hadn't she that day? It was the Monday after transfer week, so I explained that perhaps they couldn't get to a computer in the morning to do their emails.  I told her I was sure she would yet hear from him. She was persistent and wanted us at the office to call Elder Perez and ask why he hadn't emailed yet.  We didn't do it.  Then she called again about 3:30 and was so upset because she hadn't yet heard from him.  Had we called him, she wanted to know?  Elder Blue relented and called Elder Perez.  While he was talking to him, Sister Perez called again, this time to say she had finally received an email from her son. Wow. If every mother were like that, we would get nothing done in the office.

Prior to our arrival here in California, Sister Perez called Elder Curtis (he did what Elder Mecham does now) and wanted to know if her son, when he left, would be able to board his plane because by then his driver's license would be expired.  Elder Curtis assured her it would not be a problem.  I cannot tell you how many subsequent phone calls we got from her regarding this same thing.  Finally, Sister Blue called the airline and got clear confirmation that he would not have any trouble boarding his plane. 

Well, Elder Perez departed his mission last Wednesday.  About 2 p.m., I got a call from guess who?  Yup!  Sister Perez.  She was in the airport in SLC.  She said her son's plane was supposed to be in at 2:30, but now they were hearing it wouldn't be in until 4 p.m.  Did we at the Mission Office know what was going on?  Seriously???  So I nicely told her that her son had been dropped off at the airport and was on the plane with four other missionaries, and they would surely arrive safely together.  "And he was able to get on without any trouble?" she asked.  "Yes, he was!"  Unbelievable! 

When Elder Blue told President Castro that we had received a call from Sister Perez that afternoon, President Castro said, "So did I!"  When Elder Blue remarked that we got several calls from her regarding the expired driver's license issue, President said, "So did I!"  Oh my!  Thank heavens not all parents are like Sister Perez!  Actually, I feel sorry for Elder Perez.  He is an only child.  They lived back East somewhere when he departed for his mission.  Because he is planning to go to college in Utah, his parents moved to Utah, so they could take good care of him.  Poor kid.  I have to say, he bore a great testimony at the meeting for departing missionaries.  I hope he does okay back with his very over-protective mommy.

Busy Week!

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since I last updated (well, almost).  With it being transfer week, it was a very busy one.  So mad that I forgot to take my camera to transfer meeting.  It is such a neat meeting, and it was a big one this time!  Lots of changes.  It is so fun to see the missionaries hug and slap those they haven't seen for at least six weeks.  The parking lot at the stake center is filled with cars and luggage and bikes and people as everyone gets "sorted" out for the next six weeks. 

The mail piles up for a couple days prior to transfers, waiting to see where everyone will be.  When things are updated on the computer, then we can get the mail flowing again :)  Lots of paperwork to be done in conjunction with new missionaries, new assignments, departing missionaries, etc. 

This time, Sister Blue and I were asked to do the meal for the departing missionaries Tuesday evening because Sister Castro was heavily involved in her children's last days of school and graduation.  We were happy to be of service.  We decided to fix a ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, corn, peas, and watermelon.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and it was rather easy to prepare.  We fed 19.  I had to smile.  President wanted the meal at 5 p.m.  We were on schedule and things were nearly ready.  I asked Sister Blue if we should get the vegetables heating up.  She asked me if I had taken them out of the freezer.  I said no and opened the freezer - NO vegetables.  I asked her if she brought them.  She got a horrified look on her face and said, "Oh, I was supposed to buy those!"  She ran and got Elder Blue to drive to the store and purchase some -- now mind you, there are no stores very close to the office.  But he was speedy!  We heated them up and served dinner (later than 5, yes) just as the President finished an interview.  It worked out just fine.  Oh, our "old" minds that somehow forget things from time to time.  I love it that I'm not the only one that forgets :)  Love Sister Blue!! 

Wednesday Elder Mecham and Elder Blue were involved in taking the departing missionaries to LAX.  They are also trying to find some more apartments to house some missionaries, near here, and up in Delano, which is past Bakersfield -- over three hours away. 

I must take time to write about Sister Perez, one of the departing missionary's mother.  And Elder and Sister Vernon.  But that will have to come later.  It is bedtime tonight and tomorrow we are leaving early with the Blues to go to Morro Bay.  Another story, which actually ties into the Vernons  :) 

Saturday

Dropped Randy off at the office so he could catch up on a few things - 7 a.m.
Shopped the "ads" at TruValue - great buys on produce!
Picked up mousse and soap at RiteAid.
Met Sister Blue at the office. 10 a.m.
We left our husbands there and made an excursion to Costco.  (Can I just say, Costco in Pocatello and Costco in Oxnard on Saturday, or any day for that matter, are two completely different worlds!)  We bought ham, rolls, and a melon for the dinner we are providing for the departing missionaries on Tuesday.  Add to those things hot "funeral" potatoes, and we think the missionaries will be pleased.
Returned to office, dropped off Sister Blue and picked up Elder Mecham.
Tacos at el Tapatio (or something like that :) 
Shopped at a couple of roadside stands for strawberries, blueberries, and flowers.
Put bikes on the bike rack and drove to Ventura to the bike trail.
Enjoyed the ride and the scenery!
Made Sister Castro's cabbage and peanut salad for supper.  That and a bowl of fresh strawberries.  Yum!
Cut Elder Mecham's hair.
Clean up!
Blog updates :)

No one we know - just a shot from the bike trail.  Sweet!

Cabbage and Peanut Salad
Shredded green and red cabbage
Sliced green, red, yellow, orange peppers
Sliced green onions (optional)
Diced cooked chicken 
Salted peanuts
drizzle with Newman's Light Sesame Ginger Dressing

Delicious!  ~~  This is good w/out the chicken, too.  Just depends if you want it for a main dish or a salad.

Graduation!

Yesterday was Oxnard High School graduation. The high school is located directly across the street from our office.  You should have seen the traffic!  It was unbelievable!  I was going to take a picture of it, then realized Elder Mecham took the camera to Bakersfield for the day.  Too bad.  No pictures of all the cars and people OR the bunny rabbit that was on the lawn when I arrived at the office.  Traffic for the summer should be nice without school in session :)

Happy Birthday Elder Prete

Last week, Elder Prete's mother called from Utah to see if it would be possible for her to "throw" a surprise birthday party for her son.  Since his birthday (June 7) fell in the week prior to transfers, the APs, as well as the President, would be in the office a lot.  President approved the party.  Sister Prete had pizza delivered around noon.  Pizza and salad from Topper's -- delicious!  It was a nice break in the routine.  And Elder Prete was very surprised!   I feel bad the picture of him with President and Sister Castro is so dark, but if you click on it and enlarge it, you can see it, almost.  Sister Castro and Samuel came too.

Patterns

When Sister Castro was in the Mission Office for Elder Prete's party (more on that later), she was explaining to Sister Blue and me about the First Vision and how it was a pattern for missionary work.  (She said they were taught this at their last mission presidents' training.)  Joseph prayed and received an answer.  As investigators pray to know the truth, they can and will receive an answer.  Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph as companions to teach and expound truth.  Our missionaries go forth as companions to teach and expound truth.  I had never thought of the First Vision in that light before.

ZLC

Zone Leader Council (ZLC)  occurs once a month -- the first Tuesday, unless that week happens to be Transfer week, which bumps ZLC to the next Tuesday.  All the zone leaders come to Oxnard for meetings/training and to pick up supplies for their zones (the orders for which they call into me or Sister Blue).  This is what the hallway looks like on ZLC day.  There were fewer supplies this time than most.  Yikes, huh?

It is fun to see the ZLs, who are all superb missionaries.  They are energetic and enthusiastic.  We see some of them first thing in the morning, we have lunch with them (which Sister Castro provides), then we see them at the end of the day when they come to collect their supplies.  We also send UPS, FedEx, and Parcel Post packages with them for each zone because we cannot forward those.  It is fun to watch them hug and slap each other on the back as they say goodbye to former companions and friends.

Lunch was delicious.  Sister Castro always has a great, nutritious meal.  Today it was a chicken oriental salad, potato salad, watermelon and rolls, and cookie salad for dessert.  The elders love the cookie salad, which is a little different than my recipe.  She also puts in cut up grapes, mini marshmallows, and coconut.

This is some new art work we just got for the office.  I love it!

President Castro also has a new one in his office of Jesus and the apostles.  Very nice.  (I'll get a picture of that one too.)

Here is Elder Mecham in his domain :)  He gets his own office, because it has to be locked up. 

We've Been Realigned

Yesterday there was a big change up in the Oxnard wards.  Many of the people we were coming to know and love will no longer be in our ward -- nor will they even be meeting in the same church building.  I am glad we had the chance to get to know some of these lovely people, even though it was only for a short time:  Skip and Julie Johnson, Susie Davis (from Rupert), Allyn and Trisha Sisson, Linda Foster, the Ashtons (senior couple now at the MTC, to serve in South America).  All awesome people.  We will miss seeing them and getting to know them better.  We had dinner twice at the Sisson's.  We went to our first (and perhaps last) Empty Nesters FHE at Susie Davis'. Our first week here we had ice cream at the Johnson's (they are now in Nevada where Skip is undergoing cancer treatment.  We heard just today that he is responding really well and may not have to be gone as long as originally thought.  Good news).  Sister Foster was one of the first people to greet us very warmly our first Sunday here in Oxnard.  We have subsequently learned that she has many heartaches.  Her husband died quite quickly from cancer three months ago.  Her four children are inactive.  One daughter has been here and has played the most gorgeous prelude music for our sacrament meetings -- very talented.  She met a non-member online and is moving to Tennessee to marry him.  Linda is a professionally trained opera singer and is not shy to share her voice :) You can hear her harmonize -- usually tenor sung an octave above, but sometimes other variations -- when we sing the hymns in sacrament meeting.  I will miss all these wonderful people.  But I know the Lord's hand is in this, and in the long run this will be a good thing.  Much of our 2nd Ward has been reassigned/realigned to two other wards.  The 4th ward, which was "discontinued," has completely "moved" into the 2nd ward.  Interesting.  Bishop Sweet, our bishop, lost nearly all his leadership -- the ward will have to be totally reorganized.  He lost both counselors, some clerks (not sure which all), Elder's quorum president, and on and on.  Change is often hard, but usually good.  Elder and Sister Blue and Elder and Sister Mecham are now both assigned to the 2nd ward.  :)

Brother Bob Edwards is a high counselor in our stake.  Elder Bob Edwards volunteers in the mission office and takes care of all the baptism records. (Same gentleman:)  Additionally, he works in the Los Angeles Temple (once a week, I think).  He is also our landlord, sort of.  Anyway, we have an "in" to ward/stake happenings.  He is a great source of information, and we get it properly -- not prior to when it should be released.  He is 70ish -- was telling us about his 50 mile bike ride the other day.  I'll have to get his picture and post it.

This n That

MISSION STATEMENT

In the Great California Ventura Mission:

1.  we are Preach My Gospel missionaries
2.  we baptize
3.  we obey with exactness
4.  we seek to be trusted more than loved
5.  we teach with power and authority

All the missionaries memorize this when they first arrive, on their trip from the airport to the Mission Home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for who you are.  Thank you for the countless acts of love and service you offer up to so many.  Thank you for all that you will yet do to bring the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ to families, to the Church, to your communities, and to the nations of the world.  We love you.  It is my prayer and blessing that you will never forget that you are truly precious daughters in God's kingdom.

             President Dieter F. Uchtdorf quote given as a bookmark at Sister's Conference

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are headed to a baptism this afternoon.  In our staff meeting yesterday, President Castro paid Elder Wenz such a nice compliment -- (this is "his" companionship's baptism).  He said Elder Wenz was one of our finest missionaries.  "He works so hard.  And wherever he is, he is baptizing.  He is such a good missionary!"  And he is!  In actuality, they may have two baptisms today.  I'll have to let you know :) 

     No, their next baptism will be in approximately two weeks.  The candidate wants to be baptized right away, but she is having surgery this week and will have to wait until she is healed enough to "get wet."

The baptism today was 14 year old Victoria.  She was baptized by her grandfather, a convert of about 6 weeks :)   Sweet!

This morning we went for our first bike ride since we got here.  Sad that it has taken us this long to go.  It was so good to be outside and get some good exercise.  So enjoyable!  We drove up to Ventura, then biked on a path right by the ocean.  Lots of surfers were out, as well as walkers, runners, and other bikers.  We will definitely be doing that again!  And maybe next time I'll take some pictures :)