September - On to the Mission

 

Friday, September 22, 2023

Last day in the MTC. The couple that gave us our first MLS class had the last one as well. They are very encouraging and want us to aim high and exceed our expectations. We have the Lord on our side and the Spirit to guide us and have been given power by our covenants. They gave us good information and a good example.

We left the MTC and went to Costco to buy some fruit and a veggie plate. Of course, they didn’t have any veggie plates and only had large containers of strawberries. So, we bought a pasta salad from the Deli. Not a great choice but it was tasty. We went to Office Depot to get a case for Lewis’ new iPad but they were $40 and Lewis wants to try to find a cheaper one. We headed south. I fed Lewis with a spoon and we ate the salad, except for the strange sausage. After we ate the salad, we had another flat tire! The passenger front tire. We were 50 miles from Provo and the available guy was out to lunch so it took a while for him to come and find us. Les Schwab was able to rescue us again. The guy was very nice and he went through all the steps and advised us that we needed to have it balanced. There are no more Les Schwab locations until we get to Victorville. So, we went to Mesquite and slept soundly. 

We got out of bed and got back on the road. We got to the Les Schwab in Victorville and they were able to get it done rather quickly. We could only find a Carl’s Jr so we had loaded burritos for breakfast. Not very good for us but they were good. Lots of miles and plenty of traffic but we did make it. We called Brother Perry. He and his wife are the housing couple and they were in the office all day. They received 30 new missionaries this morning and they were all at the Mission Office. We got there at about 2:00. They gave us the key, the garage opener, and the address. We chatted with the missionaries who were waiting for new companions. The newbies and Pres and Sister Rodriguez were in the chapel and we didn’t see them.

We are thrilled with our new apartment. It is the nicest missionary apartment we have seen. Sister Perry said that we would have to host the senior missionary dinners because our apartment is the biggest one. Hope they all like vegan food. It is great. King-sized bed, granite island in the kitchen, washer and dryer. There is a stand-up mixer on the counter and the kitchen is pretty well stocked. There is a second bedroom with two twin beds and a second bathroom. Place your reservations for a lovely Southern California vacation. We are well pampered. We got much of our stuff put away. We went to Winco and bought produce for salads, some canned goods, and a package of vegan patties and hamburger buns. That will get us started. In the evening we went to Emily’s house to see her in person and give her a big hug and we saw Emmett and Ella. Evan was with a friend. We will get to see all of them often. I am so happy about that. We got our printer, InstaPot, and my straight iron which I have certainly missed since our last visit. She had made stir fry for dinner and we were happy to eat up most of the leftovers. Delicious. We were going to stop at Costco but we went home and went to bed. It was a long day.

Sunday - We got up and took showers. We went to the El Camino Real ward at the Gary Building in Oxnard and then to the Spanish group that meets at the same time as Emily’s ward meets. The group is having their Sacrament Meeting in the Relief Society room. They now have a Relief Society class and Elder’s Quorum lessons for the second hour. The children combine with the Young Men and Women and Primary of Emily's ward. We haven’t talked to our Mission President yet so we do not know our assignments but the Bishop (of Emily’s ward) told me to please advocate for the group. 

Both units were very friendly and welcoming. The ward is pretty good-sized and seems to be well organized. They had a confirmation of a young man who was recently baptized. The group could certainly use more members. There were two families visiting because the husbands were speaking. There were maybe 8 people and/or families in attendance. But the RS lesson went very well. Wonderful people. Maybe Lewis and I can help them grow and become stronger. The sister missionaries were there as well.

We went for a walk and then went to Walmart and bought a water purifier pitcher, more filters, napkins, jam, and laundry detergent. We went home to change clothes and then went to the Mission Office and found that the doors were locked. There is a door at the front of the building but we couldn’t see anyone through the big window. But they were there and let us in. The president and his wife were busy with district councils. We learned things from Brother and Sister Russell, Brother and Sister Perry and Brother and Sister Nixon. They gave us a card that acts like a key for the side door. We went back about noon and were able to talk with both of our Mission Leaders. They are great. Down to earth and very capable. President didn’t know that the group in Camarillo is close to becoming a branch. He wants us to also attend the Sacrament only meeting at 7:00 in the Gary Building. Some farm workers work 7 days a week but get off on Sunday afternoon. It has been happening every other week. We will have to follow up. He is happy with the progress and wants us to help all we can. He also wants us to attend and help with the El Camino ward in Oxnard. They will need us sometimes for trips to the airport and perhaps to help with the group meals. He said that he wants to talk with us monthly for a couple of months to see how things are going. Normally he will only interview us quarterly. We are happy with all of this but think we need to find several other good things to do. We ate breakfast at about 2:00. I cooked apples, dates, lemon juice, and steel-cut oats. Added more figs and nuts and it was very good.

It took till bedtime to get the internet service started. To get a deal of one free phone service for a year, Lewis changed his phone number to Spectrum. The church pays $50 to us for internet so we might not have to pay anything. Lots of phone time but hopefully all will be well. We should get the equipment on Wednesday. They say it is just plug it in and everything works. We shall see.  Turned out that the switchover had some bumps. We went to McDonald’s to use their wifi and Lewis got a helpful guy who walked him through the transfer.

We spent a lot of time in the kitchen paring down the duplications and combining the cleaning products and cleaning things. We couldn't get the dishwasher to work. Elder Parry called Sister Peterson who lived here before us. She said the on button needs to be pushed twice. Not sure we would have ever figured that out for ourselves. 

September 26th - The important thing about today is that Lorena had her second baby. Xellena Sage Russell was born today. She is 5 pounds 4 ounces. Beautiful big eyes according to Christie. She was rated 9.2 out of 10 at one minute after birth. Both are doing well. I don’t know how Christie can manage all she is doing these days but somehow, she manages to be where she is needed. They are now sleeping in their new home. 

We don't have access to the information section of our mission. We went to the Mission Office to see if our status in the church categories has been changed to MLS instead of CES. We can’t access the mission information if we are CES. We were fortunate that President and Sister Rodriguez walked in while we were there. He had talked with Salt Lake but only one person has the ability to change that so we have to wait until it is changed. 

We went shopping and got a few things on our list. We went to Smart and Final and got gallon containers for when we meal prep and make lots of soup or beans or whatever. We had an appointment with Emily. That was the highlight of the day. She was available at 12:30 and we went together to Baja Fresh to get veggie burritos and salsa. We walked back to her house and had a great time catching up and talking about all the things. She seems to be settled with doing the one mastectomy. It is a hard decision because either one could work but this one will end sooner with less chance of more threats. But the recovery from the surgery will be difficult. Emily and I think that Baja’s veggie burritos are the best. They have peppers that are still a little bit crunchy and some sour cream. Not sure what else makes them so good. They always roll the burritos well. 

We went to the Community Action food distribution organization in Oxnard. There were lots of cars lined up and we had trouble finding the building itself. But we found it and told them that we wanted to help. They put vests on us and told us to add food to the boxes. I was worried about how much because it is open until 12:30 and it was 10:30. Would we run out of food? Lewis always dives in and it all works out. After a while, the sister missionaries showed up. They said it was their first time as well. All of the people were very friendly and nice. They have quite a system. The food is from grocery stores and there were a lot of things from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Lots of bakery things including whole cakes. They give out some “Food Bank” boxes and then a big box of fresh produce and things from the grocery stores. I’m sure it is welcomed by people who are unable to afford the high costs of things currently. There were also ready-to-eat meals in plastic containers. I hope it is all eaten. I’m glad that all of this food is not dumped in the garbage! 

We plan to go back and also find others who might need help while we figure out how to do good in this area. We are using online Just Serve to find good causes. We bought a clock, a cutting board, dish drainer pads, and a steamer thingy to put in our Instant Pot. We learned today from Dr. Greger that the healthiest way to cook green leafy vegetables is to put them on a rack/basket and set the time to 0. As soon as the steam builds up high enough to pressure cook it turns itself off. Far more of the nutrients that are good for our bodies are not cooked off with this method.

We sent a large donation to support Marlo Grubb's medical needs. She is the daughter of Joyce and Danny Keliiheleua. She is at stage 4 but she is in a clinic in Arizona that her brother has sent several patients to and they have left cancer free. We are remembering her in all of our prayers also. Lots of family members are supporting her healing.

We went to visit with David and Jenny. She is finally feeling better. Sadie is as cute and athletic as ever. Her leg injury is completely healed now. No more limping. She is amazing with a balloon. She smacks it straight up every time and she twists her body as she returns to earth. We had fun catching up. The boys are doing well. We saw Andrew’s poison frogs. Two are black and yellow. And two more are blue. They have lots of pollywogs. He will be overpopulated any minute now. Leiann would be impressed. They were kind enough to loan us a blender. They kept an old one and put it in the attic when they bought a high-powered one. Thank you, that will be a big help.

Read this and liked it - Mental strength is the ability to normalize challenging circumstances. And we get to work on it every time we face a challenging circumstance. The more the challenges at any given moment, the bigger the opportunity to improve our mental strength. And, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are blessed to know we are sons and daughters of God and have the ability to ask for help and receive it. 

Saturday and Sunday were wonderful days because of the October General Conference. I took a lot of notes. We are so blessed to have prophets to be our source of truth and so many thoughts to help us make our way through this challenging world we all live in. I always feel lifted and grateful. They are always available on the church site. You can read or listen and choose your language.