Family Home Evening for 30 Senior Couples.

This week Elder and Sister Storrs were in charge of the Senior Missionary FHE for the month of June.  Since it was the month of Flag Day, they decided that all the Senior Military missionaries should explain what we do with the troops.

Elder and Sister Hussey work with the ships and keep track of all the LDS members and make sure there is a lay leader for the LDS group on every ship.

The poster on the bulletin board shows all the ships in San Diego!

The sword on the table belongs to Elder Hodges and is his officers sword. It is used for the Marine Corps cake cutting ceremony.  He talked about the ceremony and that it is representative of the passing of the USMC traditions, history and sacrifices from the oldest marine to the youngest.
Since he was the oldest marine there and there were no young ones, he gave the first piece of cake to President Schmitts' youngest son.

Sister Storrs created display boards with all of our various jobs and also volunteer service we render.

The red boards are the ones we use for the family day reception we have for the graduating marines. They depict all of the various training they have to go through in boot camp.

I thought I would take a picture of everyone taking pictures of the boards :-)

Recently, one of our new recruits was a returned missionary from the Irvine mission.  He served at the School of Infantry(SOI) for over a year of his mission working with the Chaplain on Camp Pendleton.  The picture below is his companion who he told us to say "hello" to.

We go up to SOI every other Sunday to visit with our marines who have graduated from MCRD and go there after their ten day leave.  We enjoy visiting with them and following their marine careers and seeing if they are attending church and hopefully strengthening the testimony they gained while in boot camp.
It is interesting to us that all of the newly baptized seem to attend at SOI and the marines that were not active before boot camp sometimes go back to inactivity.  Elder Hodges thinks it might be because they can have all of their electronics back once they get to Camp Pendleton.  We call MCRD-"Mormon Church Rid of Distractions"  because the recruits have nothing in boot camp except pen and paper.

We pray for our recruits and marines all the time and are grateful for our opportunity to serve them.  We know Heavenly Father loves all of his children even when they fall away or sin and has provided our Savior so we can return to live with Him again.
This is a wonderful gift for all!

Time flies...when you're having fun!!

One of the military couples is going home soon and wanted to go to the Hotel Del Coronado for lunch.  We had a wonderful time!

 After lunch we walked on the beach and saw dozens of these blue jelly fish. We had heard about them on the news. They said don't touch even if they look dead.

 I collected all these sand dollars and I am drying them out on the window air conditioner. I am not sure what I will do with them....

Once a month we have a FHE just for the military senior missionaries.  This month we had a barbecue at our apartment. There is a community grill that we used.  I didn't get any pictures of the group, but its the same couples as above. 

These are my latest projects. The pillow is for a birthday present and the quilt is for donation for a military family's baby.

Finally, Elder Hodges got a surprise.  Four star General Amos (35th Marine Corps Commandant) was the reviewing officer at the graduation this Friday.  When he saw Jim, he recognized him!
Turns out they both worked together for the same boss when they were based in Japan.

We love this mission and know it is the perfect one for us.
We love all these young men we get to work with as they face the trials of boot camp.
We know Heavenly Father loves all of his children, so much so, that he sent his only begotten Son to die on the cross for us, so that we could be forgiven and return to live with Him once again!

Touring and a profound testimony.

This week I got to go to a quilt and craft show with two other senior sisters. We had a great time shopping and enjoying the crafters.  We even attending a quilt learning session.

While the sisters were in Del Mar, Jim, Elder Hussey and Elder Storrs went to the midway and also had a tour of the Mercy Hospital ship.

Jim said they had many (12-16)  operating rooms and the hallways were very wide in comparison to the aircraft carriers.  Probably to accommodate the gurneys.

I have been wanting to go to the Mingei International Museum in Balboa park for some time.  

I had my cardiology appointment this week at the Balboa Medical Center so it was the perfect time to go.

 This dragon was outside the entrance and is all made of mosaic tiles.  Very detailed and colorful.

Of course, I loved many of the textiles and took pictures of all the quilts. Here are a few.
I love the Baltimore Album quilts and I am determined to make one in the future.
These were all hand quilted and amazing.

 This is an old quilt, but looking at the pattern, I thought I can make a replica of the pattern with embroidery in the center.  I love it!

 I also loved this doll house with the antique furnishings and dolls. Very fun!

 I need to show off a gift quilt I made for the protocol officer's grandson.  He is due in August and she specifically wanted monkeys.  This was quilted on my very small, older machine, because that is all I could bring with us on the mission in the car. I hope she likes it.....

Finally, I need to share a miracle this week.  Every Sunday we ask two of the recruits to share their testimonies at the beginning of sacrament meeting.  Last Sunday, Brother Hager shared this testimony:

 I was in the chow hall when another recruit came up to me (not a member of the church) and asked if he could get a priesthood blessing.  He had heard of others being healed with a blessing.  He told Brother Hager that he had had a nightmare where he could not breathe and had died.  It scared him very much.  Brother Hager found a quiet spot and gave this man a blessing. In the blessing he was told to have faith in the Lord and he would be saved in times of peril.
Brother Hager then went back to MRP (base medical as he had a small issue).  During his time at MRP, in walks the same young man he had given a priesthood blessing to.  When the young man saw Brother Hager, he immediately ran to him with tears in his eyes and related the story of how he ended up in medical.  He was on the repelling tower about to jump off, he had the rope in his hands loosely when his Drill Instructor pushed him off.  The rope wound itself around his neck and he was hung!  He told Brother Hager that he felt angels lifting him up and pairs of hands pinning him to the wall of the tower.  Now they were both in tears.  Brother Hager said he is so glad he holds the priesthood and was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bless this young man.

As I listened to this testimony, I too, was in tears, both because of the faith of a young man that had only heard of priesthood blessings and also because of the faith of Brother Hager in using and being worthy to use the priesthood power given him.

We know that Heavenly Father loves ALL of his children and desires to bless each one.  We only need to ask in faith, believing.  We are so grateful to be able to share in the miracles while we are here serving the Lord and his children.

Mission Leader Conference and recognition.....

We were asked to help serve lunch for the Mission Leadership conference this week.

We had fun with all these missionaries. They are so appreciative.

As I have said before, I volunteer at the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society.
I make baby quilts for the military families. This is the thirteenth one.

 On Tuesday, I was invited to a volunteer recognition luncheon and it was great!
These two gals are so wonderful to work with. Isabel and Sarah are always smiling and so happy when I come in to donate.

 I was in shock when I received three awards!! One with the bag, certificate, pin, backpack and shirts for over 300 hours, one was a certificate from the California congressman and flowers with two other women who donate their time.  I was so surprised!

We were able to celebrate with Golf Company as they graduated this week.  This marine was so excited to see his wife to be.  They will be married in the temple on Tuesday during his leave.
We also got to share in the ordination of one of the graduating marines.  We had to wait until Friday so all of his brothers and their families could be there.

We have been so blessed and constantly see the hand of the Lord in our work here.

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!