March 30, 2014

March 30, 2014

Wow!  Another month about to end!

The weather here has been a little cooler, and we have had some rain.  Temps have been in the 60’s, and next week we have some 50’s forecast, then back up to the 70’s. 

It has been crazy to see how our little container garden has grown!  We started most of the plants March 10^th…..our cherry tomato plant (we bought a small plant), some lettuce and spinach, radishes, and cucumbers (these from seed).  Then, on March 22^nd, we bought a small container of cucumber plants, because we hadn’t seen anything coming up yet on the cucumber seeds.  Well, as Gary was planting the cucumbers, he saw where the seeds were finally sprouting, so we will just have some farther along than others.  Then we got to talking that we should have gotten a regular tomato plant too, besides the cherry tomato.  So, Gary went on the 24^th and got another pot and an Early Girl plant, and he also got another long planter and some beet seeds and planted them.  The first tomato plant, when it was first put in was under the 1^st ring on the tomato cage.  It is now just above the 3^rd ring!  It’s like you can see them growing!  We are excited to be able to have some fresh salad to eat…..yum!

I talked with Jeff and the kids today.  It was nice to hear from them, and sounds like the kids are doing well.

We heard from Melissa that they found a house to buy in Highland Village.  It is in the same neighborhood as the house they are renting, and has a nice size backyard…..which is apparently hard to find there.  So, the kids will still be in their same school.

Our two new office ladies have finished their first week of training, and seem to be doing great!  We are enjoying getting to know them.

Saturday night, I took Sister Michie (who lives in our complex) and the two new office sisters (Sister Wilks and Sister Nedreberg) to the Women’s Broadcast at the Cropley building.  I thought since they were new to the area they would appreciate a ride!  It was a great meeting and a historic meeting since it was the first time all girls and women 8 years old and up attended together.  It was raining as we drove to and from…..and plenty of traffic, but that is the case all the time here.

Last Sunday I brought home the Vietnamese copy of the Latter-day Saint Woman part A lesson book for Relief Society.  I teach out of that manual.  Then I copied the pages in the Vietnamese book for lessons 3 and 4 which I am teaching April 13^th and 20^th .  That way, I could cut out the parts I wanted to assign to the sisters to help with on the lesson.  They don’t let the sisters take the books home, since they have so few and worry that if someone forgets to bring the book with them on Sunday, then there wouldn’t be enough for people to follow along with.  So, to give someone time to read through the part I want their participation on, I needed to go this route.  I passed out the parts today for lesson 3, since next Sunday is General Conference, and I teach the following week.  Now I just hope that they remember to be prepared for the lesson.  I gave Linh a posterboard and a sharpie with 2 lists I wanted her to write for me in Vietnamese, one on each side of the posterboard.  Then when I am at that part of the lesson, I will just put that list up for all to see.  So, hopefully all will remember their parts for the 13^th!  And if they understood what I was telling them when I passed the parts out!  On the 13^th, I will hand out parts for the next week’s lesson.  I will see if this works better to involve the class more.  I hope it does.

We just finished being audited at the office this last week.  It took 3 different days of coming to the office for the 2 auditors to finish.  I got to thinking, wow, this will be hard for my replacement next year to go through…..the questions that are asked, and whether or not she understands it all by that point, as we will be leaving February 19^th.  I feel bad for her already.

Gary has been on a list for a two bedroom apartment on Capitol Ave., to move out of the one bedroom, and this week learned there is one available, so he has been working on the paperwork for that.  We will take possession of that one May 5^th.

It was a good week, and as always, time is flying by!!!  We keep so busy that the days just go so quickly for us.  Another couple of weeks, and we will be to transfers again. This will be our 6^th of 13.  Does the time go as fast for you as it does us?  It is just amazing to us how quickly these weeks go by.

We know how important our office callings are, and are so grateful that we are able to help in that part of the missionary work.  Yes, it is hard work, but we know we are needed.  We love getting to know the young missionaries….they are such a joy!  We sure hope that we can keep in touch with many of them when our time is up.  I just had a realization the other day……I was thinking of some of the kids that we have gotten close to, and some of them are getting close to the end of their missions.  And I was thinking how sad I will be to say good-bye to them.  Then I thought….this is almost like how death is.  We are sad when someone we love leaves us, but, oh, the rejoicing on the other side to have them come home to those who have been waiting there!   Farewells and homecomings…….

Well, that is about it for this week, I guess.

Pics of me with the AP's

Sister Wanda Yearsley, Elder J. Jackson Oxley, Elder Luke D. Bracken in front of the Mission Office (they wanted to have their pictures on my blog!!)

March 23, 2014

March 23, 2014

This was a busy week for Gary, and a steady one for me.  Gary opened an apartment on Monday for the two new senior sisters that arrived the end of the week, then spent the week furnishing it.  The two sisters are named Sister Nedreberg, who will be replacing Elder Clayton as Vehicle coordinator, and Sister Wilks who will be replacing Sister Clayton as Mission Secretary.  Sister Nedreberg arrived by plane on Friday.  Gary and I picked her up at the airport.  She is just a few months younger than my mother!  Sister Wilks arrived on Saturday.  Her son drove her here from Utah, then flew home later that afternoon.   We met them at the mission office, then showed them the way to the apartment and helped unload the car and settle in.  The young sisters who live in that complex came each day with warm cookies to welcome in the new senior sisters…..so sweet of them!  They were:  Sister Arias, Sister Fischetti, Sister Bradshaw and Sister Monical.  We sure love those girls!!!

We have another senior sister arriving the end of this week, I believe, who is going to replace Sister Chambers in the Employment Center.  By the way, Sister Chambers is 2 years younger than Gary’s dad!  It is amazing that these sisters who are really getting up there in age are desirous to serve a mission.  What an example to all of us! 

Sister Chambers and Elder and Sister Hallman are all leaving by the 7^th or 8^th of April.  We have two other couples arriving in April…..the Wahlen’s and the Crockett’s.

Elder Michie has been a great help to Gary in setting up the apartment this past week. It was nice for him to have an extra pair of hands!

So, this coming week, we have the new senior sisters starting their training in the office.  After meeting them both, I think we will get along just fine!  It will be interesting to see how Sister Nedreberg fits in as vehicle coordinator.  She is willing to learn, which is great.  I hope the work isn’t too much for her.  She is a retired computer and math teacher, so the computer part, the paperwork part, should be easy.  Sister Wilks should do just fine in her assignment as Mission Secretary.

Today we face timed with Shelley, Hunter, Ayla and Emi.  It is always fun to chat with the kids and grandkids!

Oh, today in the Vietnamese Branch was fun in Sunday School!  During the lesson, the talk was on eternal families, and Brother Bui, who has 3 adult children who aren’t married and around 30 years old, got on one about the fact that they needed to get married!  Of course, it was all in Vietnamese, but was quite animated, and a lot of people got into the discussion.  One lady, Sister Nga, said she had a daughter, age 28, that she could match up with one of the boys!  The boys and their sister were pretty good natured about it……the pressure is mainly on the boys to find someone and ask them to marry them……the boys looked a little bit embarrassed, but they laughed at their dad along with everyone else.  I think they must hear it all the time at home.  They are both in school getting their Masters in Engineering.  Their sister is also in school working on her Masters, but I don’t remember what field.  They are all very dedicated to getting their education finished first, I think, before considering marriage.  The boys go to school around here, but their sister is farther away, so doesn’t live here but lives wherever her school is….not too far, because she comes home weekends sometimes.

The weather is beautiful here….it has been in the 70’s most of the week.  But allergy season is in full swing….so many people are showing some symptoms.  I have felt allergy symptoms since I arrived, and take allergy pills and decongestants daily.  I have heard of others who have been doing the same.

Next week, we have some chances of rain again.  It is definitely needed.

We had auditors one day this week, one evening the week before, and they said they need one more day to finish the audit of the records for 2013.  They found some errors in records from two or three years ago that I need to clean up, dealing with the security deposits on closed apartments not being recorded properly.  So, another job for me to get done in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, I forgot.  On Tuesday, Gary opened an apartment in King City, which is the southernmost city in our mission.  It is about 2 ½ hours south of here.  The President had told Gary that when he went to set up that apartment, he could take me, so I spent the day with him, loading up the truck with items to take south, then helping in getting the apartment set up.  We had Elder Alvarez and Elder Martin help us.  Two sisters will be living in this apartment……Sister Lindsay and Sister Quintana.  They had been living in the stake presidents house until this apartment could be secured, so for about 2 weeks.  It was a full day.  We ate dinner as we drove home, and arrived back at the office about 6:30, unloaded a few items, then headed home getting home about 7 p.m.  We learned the next morning that one of our new sister missionaries who arrived 2 weeks ago was in an accident Tuesday night.  She was crossing a street with her companion, and didn’t make it across before the light changed.  Her companion headed back to the center divider, but the new sister thought she could run across the last part.  Well, a car didn’t see her and hit her.  She is still in the hospital.  She ended up with a broken shoulder and a fractured skull.  They had to do surgery that night to relieve pressure in her skull.  Her parents flew up from Georgia to be with her.  As soon as she is able to leave the hospital, she will be going home with her parents to continue the healing process.   It could have been so much worse….we are so grateful that she is okay!

Another item:  we started a small container garden on March 10^th.  We bought a cherry tomato plant, and lettuce, spinach, radish, and cucumber seeds.  It is amazing to see how fast they are growing!  All but the cucumbers.  So yesterday, we headed to a different nursery to see if we could find cucumber plants already growing.  We had been checking other places all the time, but hadn’t had any luck.  This time we found some, and brought them home to plant in the pot.  Well, as Gary was getting ready to plant them, he found that the seeds had finally sprouted that he had planted earlier, so we will have some farther along than others, as he planted these plants in that same big pot.

We hit our 7^th month mark this week.

Sister Clayton had a birthday this week…turned 60.  I think I forgot to put on another post….on February 8^th Sister Watkins turned 50.  That was the day of the big zone conference and the Tet festival.

Well, you can see my mind jumps from here to there as I try to remember things from the past week.  I hope you can follow it okay!

The evening is coming to a close, so time for this entry to also close!

We’d love to hear from some of you as to what you are doing too!  Just a quick email to fill us in would be nice occasionally.  Thank you to those who have kept us informed.   We love reading about your adventures too!   I hope this format of blogging our memories works okay for everyone.  I don’t email, just do this blog.  But, if someone emails us, we try to respond back!  If you need our email address, it is:  yearsleygw@yahoo.com

Hugs and kisses to our kids and grandkids             XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Love to all!!

March 16, 2014

March 16, 2014

 

Today is our granddaughter Natalie’s 4^th birthday.  So we face timed with them to wish her a happy birthday.  We also had the chance to face time with Kori’s family……Brendan and Christian I guess needed some family history information for their Young Men’s meeting this week.  Then we had a quick visit with Shelley, Hunter and Ayla……they have had sickness in their house starting last night…..a stomach bug.  The kids were excited to get to bed, because they have set some leprechaun traps, and hope to catch a leprechaun in one of them.  Last St. Patrick’s Day, the leprechaun had visited their house and left a mess I guess….along with some treats.

Tomorrow is our grandson Kyler’s birthday.  We will call him after work.

Okay, let’s see what to say about this last week.  The weather here has been great…..70’s and even up to 80.  Trees, flowers and shrubs are blossoming everywhere.   And allergies are blossoming along with them!

The Michie’s arrived on Monday.  They are a MLS missionary couple who are attached to 1 Spanish speaking ward and 1 Spanish speaking branch.  This is their 4^th mission together.  He taught high school Spanish, and they have served missions in Mexico in the past.  They live in the same apartment complex as us….in fact on the opposite side of our building.  The other couple that arrived I haven’t met yet, though Gary has.  They are the Fairhurst’s.  They live south of here, and are assigned in the Monterey area.  He is a former military member, and so I believe they will work with military families, but I really don’t know the details on that.  Friday one of the senior sisters will arrive that will start training to be an office worker (Sister Nedreberg), and on Saturday, the other sister arrives (Sister Wilkes).  A week later, the senior sister that is replacing Sister Chambers in the employment center will arrive (Sister Robinson).  We learned a week ago that we are getting another senior couple April 12^th too.  This will be the most seniors here since we have come.

We are approaching our 7^th month mark this week…..March 19^th.

Gary had a busy past week, getting apartments ready for people.  This involves the paperwork of getting it started and also putting the furniture in.  Next week he has 2 more he is opening up….one for the senior sisters and a new one in King City, which is the southernmost part of our mission, for 2 young sister missionaries.  King City is about a 2 ½ hour drive from here.  President Watkins told Gary that when he made that trip, he could take me with him, as he would be gone the whole day.  That will be on Tuesday.  I doubt we will make it back here till about 7 pm. 

I have been told that from what I write on here it sounds like a vacation.  Well, it’s not like any vacation I would want to take!  I try to sound positive on here, and don’t always put what the full day entails in what I have to do, but I guess that maybe sitting in the hot tub at night sounds like we live a life of leisure.  Some days, those 15 minutes of the hot tub (and that is all it is) is the only relaxation of the day for me.  Yesterday, for example…..we got up, started the laundry, cleaning the apartment, I made bread, the Michie’s came over for a bit to chat, and then I got to work on getting our tax information ready to mail in to our accountant.  When I finished with that, Gary said we needed to get our shopping done, and I said I am going to sit in the sun for 10-15 minutes first…..just sit and relax a bit.  Some days it seems I don’t get out in the sun at all the whole day.  Then we went and got some shopping done.  Both of us grabbed a string cheese to eat as we left, as it was after lunch time by now. We ate dinner while we were out.  Oh, and when we go anywhere in our car, I am the driver because Gary is tired of driving all week, so that isn’t relaxing at all to get out in the car.  You always have to be on high alert because of the traffic and the crazy drivers here.  We didn't get all the groceries we needed.  First of all, I had wanted to find a certain popcorn shop to get some popcorn for Sister Clayton for her birthday this week, since she loves popcorn and is gluten intolerant so can't eat a birthday cake.  And we stopped at Costco, but it turned out they were closing, so we only got a few items, then had to leave.  When we got home, I started ironing, and ironed until time for our 15 minutes in the hot tub and then bed.  My back has been hurting this past week, so I have been trying to doctor it with Ben Gay, massaging it with this thing Melissa sent us, had Gary massage it a bit, heating pad, and back stretches….oh, and the hot tub to relax those muscles too.   

Any time we go anywhere, the time involved is way more than you would think it should be because of the traffic and difficulty in finding parking…….no matter where we go, there is just not enough parking.  And there is always traffic on the road.   

We had hoped we could show the Michie’s around a bit, but there just was no time to fit it in……I HAD to get the tax stuff done so I can mail it off tomorrow.  Time is just getting away from me now.  So, even though we have had occasional things that are fun, like the trip to the Monterey Aquarium, and we did enjoy it, it just adds the work load to after work on the week days.  Laundry, ironing, cleaning and shopping still have to fit in somewhere.  Also, I have to fit in time to prepare my lessons for Relief Society.  I have been doing twice a month lessons for the last 2 months, and have another month to go until the lady I have been replacing gets back from Vietnam and is ready to start up again.  Then I will only have the one lesson a month to prepare.   

None of the other senior missionaries here teach lessons in the wards they attend.  But we are the help for our little branch, so we are helping with those things.  The other seniors just attend their meetings.  They may do one talk in Sacrament meeting while they are out here.  We have already each done a talk, and I am sure we will probably have at least 2 more to do, as the numbers are so few in the branch.   

Some days during the week it may be slow, but I still sit in the office to do what needs to be done as it comes in.  The slow days are as hard as the busy ones….hard in the sense that the day seems slow!  And I think of things I could be getting done at home.  The sisters who work in the employment center are sort of like us…..they have busy times and slow times, but they have a set time that they are required to be in the office.  The MLS missionaries plan their own schedule, and they have the time to do their personal study just like the young missionaries have.  They move at a slower pace, not the hectic one we move at on the transfer weeks, or the times Gary is moving furniture around or getting new apartments.   

 And our schedule doesn’t always end at 5 on the week days.  There are many days in the office that we are there till 6 or so.  Oh, this past week, it was time for the audit, so we left the office a little early, had dinner, and had to be back by 7 to meet the guys who were coming to do the audit.  We got there at 6:30 in case they happened to get there early.  We didn’t get home until 10.  So yes, we lead a busy life here.  Our brother-in-law, Kelley, put it this way to Gary…..so  you retired from your busy work life to come here and be even busier!!  The busyness is good in the sense that time goes by quickly and we don’t have time to miss our kids and grandkids too much.  But sometimes I sure would like a Saturday to just sit and chill!    

Gary’s leg has been hurting him this week too, so I don’t know if he has pulled a muscle or something with the lifting of heavy items he does.

But, I know we need to be here serving this mission.  There is so much that seniors are needed to help with.  And we love the people we have gotten to know……those in our Vietnamese Branch, and the other seniors we serve with, and all the young missionaries!  We have loved the weather here.  But the good weather isn’t enough to make me want to come back……the traffic is just too crazy here!  There are many people who live here who say they would never leave because the weather is so great.  The cost of living and the traffic are enough for me to say “not for me….I would rather live somewhere else”.

I had a picture taken of me with our AP’s this week.  They said they wanted me to post it on my blog so that those who know me can see them.  So, I will get that on here soon.

Well, this is a lot of rambling, and I hope it doesn't sound like complaining......I just wanted to share that we aren't just playing here, we actually are working hard.....harder than we have in our past life.

Now, the day is about done, so I need to close once again.

One last addition:  2 of our Vietnamese elders, Elder Hullinger and Elder Kwon stopped by to visit us just now.  It was a nice visit, and they left a very powerful message…the one of Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s last talk in General Conference in April 1985, where he said:  “I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.”

What a powerful testimony!

And now on that thought, I will close for the week.

Some notes from the Outgoing Devotional March 2, 2014

Sister Chambers:  Bore her testimony.  Joined 40 years ago.  [she is about 83 I think]  Taught by an elder from Rexburg.  Her son, who was already a member, was getting ready to go on a mission, confirmed her.  That has always meant a lot to her.  Heavenly Father guides us and wants us to be happy.  The Gift of the Holy Ghost is a great blessing to her.

Sister Jensen:  got her visa to Brazil.   She loves desserts.  Always wants more.  Not good for obvious reasons!  Something out there is better….the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are missionaries.  The opportunity to partake of this spiritual feast….the Gospel…..changes lives.  I know, it has changed mine.  If you desire, here it is in its fullness.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ—it is true--it is real--and it works.  Apply it in your life.

Convert message:  Brother and Sister Portillo----she had been an inactive member for many years. Her husband was a recent convert. (baptized 12/21/13).  They have a high regard for the missionaries.  She had grown up in and out of various churches.  Baptized when she was 9.  Inactive for many, many years.  Elder Horlacher taught them.  The message he shared will change their lives forever.  They had forgotten that God is always there.  When baptized, Elder Horlacher said Welcome Home.   Their goal, someday they want to visit Elder Horlacher, walk through the door and say Welcome Home to him.  Did the I LOVE YOU sign in sign language…said, we love you Elder Horlacher.

Convert message:   Arlina Philips, baptized 12/7/2013.  Thankful for missionaries.  That they take time out of their lives to serve.  Elder Bird met her when she was walking home from school.  Sent sister missionaries to visit with her.  It took a few months….she didn’t feel she was ready.  Missionaries kept coming by, telling her she was beyond ready to be baptized.  She is especially thankful for Elder Bird, that he stopped to talk to her that day.

Elder Bird:  I will be returning to Spanish Fork, Utah.  This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to serve a mission.   He and his companion had had a prayer to have someone who was ready put in their path that day.  Met Arlina walking home from school.  His message to other missionaries….people are out there who are ready.  While on his mission, he learned what the Gospel of Jesus Christ really is…..learned in the last 6 months of his mission.  One man, named Siri….has a painful knee, yet offered to help a neighbor move, up and down many stairs…….what kept him going was that he knew it was painful for Christ to carry the cross.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about serving others.    Elder Bird made a promise that he will always live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Horlacher:  Bore his testimony.   Jesus Christ is the perfect example to follow.