Mt Soledad and lots of pictures

Today we went out with Elder and Sister Storrs to take lots of pictures of them in front of the various military sites where they work.  We went to Balboa Hospital, Miramar, Coast Guard and Point Loma sub base. We had never been to some of these and they also took us up to Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.

 They had lots of memorial plaques on all the walls surrounding the memorial.

 We could view the San Diego temple from the top of Mt Soledad.

 There were memorials to a few famous men too!

And, of course, I had to get Elder Hodges in front of the Marine Corps Air Station!!!

We love being senior missionaries!!

Adventures and seeds planted..

Elder Hodges and I decided one day we should go down to the beach to catch the sunset.  When we first got there it was about an hour before sunset so we walked.  So many people go to the beach here. They surf, ride bikes, skateboards, walk and they even have places on the beach for groups to build bonfires once the sun goes down.

The weather was in the 70s with a wonderful breeze.

The General on MCRD invited all of the volunteers on the base to a luncheon at the BayView Restaurant.  We, along with the other members who hold services on Sunday were all invited. I was also invited thru the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society.

 This picture shows Brother and Sister Bullick who are such an important part of the MCRD branch!
Love them!

The gal talking to Elder Hodges is Isabel.  She works with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society and I love her!  She is so positive and caring for all who volunteer and also those marines that come in for financial help.

I first met this woman in December.  I was running around the base looking for the conference room.  I went into the base museum and she was at the information desk. We got to talk and she asked about my tag.  I told her a little about the church and she said she wanted to learn more.  I told her we have church on base, but she might want to go closer to home.  She gave me her address and phone number and I gave them to Elder Myler who helped us that day with the family day reception.

So here it is five months later and she found me at the volunteer luncheon and was so excited to tell me she has been taking the lessons with the missionaries and wants to come and attend church with us on the base!!  I was so surprised and excited!  So many times, we talk about the gospel with people, they ask questions, we plant seeds and never know the results.  I felt so blessed to know that my small act helped her to find the opportunity to learn more.
We should never be afraid to talk to others!  I believe we will be led to those who are seeking!

FHE with the Senior Missionaries and Easter!

We were in charge of Family Home Evening this month for the San Diego Senior Missionaries.

We had learned that one of the Drill Instructors and his wife were members of the church.

They were willing to come and share their stories with us and testify of the truth of the gospel and how it has blessed their lives.  The spirit was so strong and everyone was blessed as they shared.

They are from Tonga and their parents were converted to the church when they were children. Both served missions and told of the miracles they saw.  They were both engaged to other people when the spirit told them they were not marrying the right one.  After they met they knew immediately they were perfect for each other.  Brother Tupou served in Iraq and Afghanistan.   Sister Tupou is expecting in August, so of course, I had to make a baby quilt for their wonderful family.

We  are very thankful for getting to spend a wonderful evening with them.

We had another graduation this week.  There are forty two a year and we see many of our marines graduate and move on to their next duty stations.  We get to sit in the reviewing stand every week because of one special lady that works in the protocol office.  

This week we finally got a picture with Brenda! 

By the way, if anyone wants to come to San Diego and go to graduation with us, just let us know and we can reserve a seat for you!

We were very grateful to be able to see most of General Conference Easter weekend and also the Bullicks, who work with us every Sunday invited us to Easter dinner with their extended family.
It was so wonderful to see all of their children and grandchildren running, laughing and playing.

It reminded us of how thankful we are to be parents and grandparents to so many exceptional people!

We feel very blessed and know the Lord loves all of his children!

Beautiful and interesting....

We took a trip to Carlsbad this week to see the flower fields. They opened March 1st and so some fields are not fully grown yet, but it was gorgeous!

We were invited to tour the Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier after graduation this week. It is huge!

We were very lucky to be able to tour with an oral surgeon in the Navy who is a member of the church. Several other senior missionaries went also.

When we got up to the flight deck, Brother Mack told Jim to take over and explain about what happens with the jets, etc. because he has landed on aircraft carriers many times. Brother Mack also told us about being there with all the noise and said that even with double hearing protection, the noise just vibrates your whole body.  He told some stories about feeling the heat from the after burners even when he was far away on another deck. 

Every time we learn more about the military and all the things they have to do, I am so grateful for the sacrifices they make for our freedoms.  

We are grateful to help in some small way with the new recruits and marines as they train and prepare for their service to our country.  

We testify that the Lord loves all his children and desires all to live in such a way that they will return to live with Him. We love our mission!!

Fun, fun, fun.....

We did not have a graduation this week, so we spent time catching up with paperwork, cleaning our apartment and generally enjoying the beautiful weather this week.

We were able to take one of our graduates out to dinner and on a tour of the Mormon Battalion because he was leaving the next day for his MOS school and was staying in the USO at the airport overnight.  He is an amazing man. He was in MRP (medical) for 7 months before he was picked up by a company and finished his training. During that time he brought at least seven of his friends from MRP and many were baptized. A wonderful missionary!

We also had a sad/happy occasion to celebrate as one of the other military relations senior couples is scheduled to go home this week. We all met at the Cheesecake Factory to say goodbye and share a FHE lesson together.

We will miss Elder and Sister Lawson so much!

Sister Storrs gave us a lesson about Lucy Mack Smith and made these angels out of sea shells. Each one was designed for the Sister she gave them too!!! I love mine....

We are breaking records for temperature this week in San Diego.  So we decided to enjoy a day at the beach.
We ended up at Tory Pines State Park because we just drove up the coast looking for a beach :-)

We love our mission and the blessing of time to enjoy all that Heavenly Father has blessed us with!

We feel honored.....

This week was interesting. We had our usual reception and cake cutting on Thursday for India Company.  During the reception, Elder Hodges received a phone call from the protocol officer inviting us to have breakfast at the Brigadier Generals home before the graduation the next day!

It was an honor to be invited and the breakfast was very fancy; china, a special menu prepared by the Bayview restaurant chef and a tour of the general's home, complete with a Major General Smedley Butler room and a John F. Kennedy room (remodeled just so he could take a nap on the day of his visit to MCRD right before his last trip to Texas). 

Lots of really great displays of history.

On Saturday, the USMC Drum and Bugle Corps from Washington DC put on a performance. 

Again, we received a personal invitation and VIP seating. Wow!

 The USMC Silent Drill Team was also performing.
We had seen them in D.C. many years ago, but it was so wonderful to see them again.

Because we have no graduations until April, we decided to make a quick trip to see Suzy, Taylor and Madison and how we loved it!

Snuggling with a three week old is the best!  Oh, we also enjoyed visiting with Taylor and Suzy too!

We are so grateful for the blessings of family and knowing that as we serve, they are watched over and taken care of by a loving Heavenly Father.  We see so many miracles here with the recruits.
It strengthens our testimony and desire to continue working each day.
One more year!

Wedding!!

Camden and Eric Christiansen were married on March 5th and the reception was on the 6th.
We flew home with permission from the mission president for five days.  It took only one day to get home, well Austin and rental car...but it took two days to get back. (Lots of pictures!)

Thursday night at 8pm Eric and Camden were sealed in the San Antonio temple.

We also were so glad Cameron and Becky came with the children. We got to meet Noelle for the first time.

And play with the other children....

A Wonderful Week......