POST MORTEM

Because of stake conference, Mother's Day, etc., I didn't report my mission to the high council until yesterday.  Also reporting were Elder Wilson Simons from my ward and Sister Savannah Smart, whose parents I know from a previous ward.

As I stood to report and looked at the two young missionaries, I became very emotional, and I realized just how much I miss the young missionaries in the Cal/Sac Mission.  They really blessed my life.

Similar to childbirth, the painful part of the mission has faded, leaving such good memories that, yes, one begins to consider doing it again.

Somebody Stop Me.....

LAST WEEK

Celebrated Easter by having dinner with Brooke and Steve Saturday night and with the Boehmes on Sunday.    President Boehme is president of the Sacramento Temple.  When I arrived here a year ago, my very first evening was spent at his home, having dinner outside around the pool, so it felt quite fitting that I kind of  close out the mission in the same fashion.  Church was interesting.  First block was fast and testimony meeting, then sunday school, then a joint Easter program back in the chapel.  It was like another sacrament meeting without the sacrament.  And with two such meetings, even with a rest hymn in each, we never sang He is Risen.

I've learned late in the game that Sacramento has a "city flower," the camelia.  I've seen them all over and really didn't know what they were.  The yard next to the Boehmes is filled with them, with some yet to bloom.  I'm going to miss the flowers here.

Last night was my exit interview with President (and Sister) Lewis.  He wrote a beautiful letter to send to my bishop and stake president.  I was given an engraved platter, which I will cherish.  While thanking me for my service, he said, "You've endured a lot.  Enough said."  Afterward was FHE with the other seniors, and Sister Thompson chose the hymn He is Risen, because I had mentioned my disappointment on Sunday.

I made a kitty litter cake for the office yesterday for April Fool's Day.  The young missionaries loved it.  The only other good trick I noticed was that Elder Jenks wore his sister's name tag around all day.  I noticed it early on, but I only heard one other mention of his being Sister Jenks, and that was late in the day.

Next weekend the new seniors arrive:  nurse, financial clerk, two new office sisters, and two sisters being assigned to live and labor in "the pocket" area of Sacramento.  We have been feverishly clearning out the office space to make room for two additional people.  We found some great stuff, including brand new backpacks, which the mission used to sell to incoming missionaries.  Who knew?  We recycled a lot of dated church materials, which was hard in the beginning.  We're pleased with the resulting lean and efficient office.  I think the addition of two additional sisters in the office will be beneficial--a buffering effect.

I've learned many things on this mission, but self-control isn't one of them.  I'll be returning with the requisite 10-pound weight gain.  People (over)feed missionaries.  Unlike the younger ones, I haven't been able to cycle off the calories.  I'm looking forward to riding my bike and working in the yard rather than sitting at a desk all day.

WEEKEND OF THE ARTS

Last night we had dinner in a French bistro--one of the best meals I've had in this area.  Brooke had tickets for TAMING OF THE SHREW.  Imagine our surprise when Petruchio blew into Padua on a Harley, and Bianca's successful suitor, Lucentio, was a woman.  As I think about it, I don't think the Bard would have found much objection to the production, bawdy as he most likely was.

This morning Sister Thompson and I hit the Expo Center for the quilt and sewing exhibition.  It was great; I wish we'd had more time to spend.  But we were meeting the Cherringtons and the Downses for another theater production:  this one CHILDREN OF EDEN.  We received a flyer and special discount coupon at the office, probably because of our church listing.  It was regional theater with a cast of 90+, including small children.  But the leads were amazing, and I enjoyed it more than I did Shakespeare.  Great day.

Tomorrow Dallin Oakes speaks at stake conference; then there's an interfaith Easter concert at Folsom High.

TOP OF THE MORNIN', DAFFODILS, & DANDELIONS

Went to Daffodil Hill yesterday with Brooke.  It was the first day they were open, and fewer than 50 percent of the flowers were in bloom, but rain is expected next week, and some years the rain has proved disastrous.   It's a pretty place, a working farm the rest of the year, but open to the public during daffodil days.  I'm sure when the whole hillside is in bloom, it's quite spectacular.  As it was, it was a pretty day and a pretty drive.

On the way back we noticed a sign in the town of Jackson for Dandelion Days.  Wondering what one could possibly celebrate about a weed, we stopped to see.  It was a fairly tacky street fair with no dandelion motif in sight.  No T-shirts, no posters, no dandelion wine.  The sign advertising it sported a leprechaun and a shamrock.  When we asked the locals, they said that it had always been Dandelion Days and they never remembered seeing even a picture of a dandelion.  Go figure.

In the mission, President Lewis went tracting with some of the elders last Thursday.  This isn't unusual, he does it every chance he gets.  But these were biking elders, and he asked them to borrow a bike for him to ride.  I'm sure they learned a lot from teaching with him.  For his part, he learned how to activate the gates of gated communities by laying the bike down flat in front of the gate to replicate the metal dimensions of a car. He suspected the elders of trying to wear him out by biking the entire distance of their area, but he's a runner, and he kept pace easily.  I love the visual of the three of them on their bikes in suits and helmets...

The farewell dinners have begun.  On Thursday, Sister Morgan took us to Golden Corral, where she takes the missionaries every transfer day.  She's the 88-year-old who help me organize the Christmas mail in December.  She went skydiving on her 85th birthday and plans to return for her 90th.  Last night President and Sister Lewis took me to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant.  Today a couple in the Ward has invited us for corned beef and cabbage.

I will miss some of the wonderful people here.  Fortunately, many of them have family ties in Utah and have promised to visit.

SUMMERTIME NOW

Today's temps are in the 80's.  The convertibles all have their tops down (sigh).  But the flip side is that the AC has been turned on--in the office, the library, retail stores, etc.  Gimme a break.

Today was the longest day of the whole mission, and crushingly boring. I would love to work hard until the end, but I don't have enough work to do all the time.  Today was one of those days.  It doesn't help that the elders hangin' around the office aren't as much fun as in times past.  The two office elders are sweet and helpful, but they're computer nerds, which I say with all the love in my heart.  Even the new AP is pretty serious and strait-laced.  I miss "No Bones" Henderson and Elder "I didn't meant to run over your leg" Walker.

Last night's RS birthday celebration featured a swap meet.  There was some high-end stuff there, including an American Girl doll.  (Sorry, granddaughters, but another grandma elbowed me out of the way.  I had my badge on, after all, and couldn't be too competitive.)  It was a good chance for me to unload some stuff that I don't want to bring home:  books I've read and quilt projects I brought but haven't got around to quilting.  But guess what I came home with?  Quilting books.

Remember I told you, Ben, that when the city dismantles my mailbox, I want a new one and not the old one replanted.  I saw a cute one the other day that I think we should do.  Go ahead and get started on it, if you want to, but don't use my cruiser....

We're already seeing some effects of having younger missionaries in the field.  One young elder was handed the keys to a new car when he arrived a few weeks ago.  He's had two accidents in 11 days.  In his defense, he stated at the outset that he really didn't want to drive.  Now he doesn't have to.  

Nothing else to share.  As I said, a boring week.  

SPRINGTIME IN THE SIERRAS

The trees are in full bloom, and my eyes are chronically red and itchy.  But here's a thing:  among all the flowering pear and tulip trees there are bushes and shrubs that have been green all winter and are now turning red and autumn-y.

The frogs in the creek at my complex are noisily back.  I'm sorry Riley missed them when he was here.  Judging by the sounds, there are some big ones in there.  (And no, I'm not bringing one home with me.)

I just recorded the baptism of an 86-year-old woman, twice widowed, mother of 5.  My favorite story from last month was of the husband, married to a lifelong member, who invited his wife out to dinner for Valentine's Day, then drove her to the church, where he had arranged to be baptized...unknown to her.

Next month we'll be getting four sisters designated as WAS, Women's Auxiliary Support, missionaries.  This is new.  They'll be assigned to stakes within the mission, as needed, to do whatever is needed.  I predict that they'll be a little lost at first, having to design their own job descriptions.  But I'm hoping that at least one of them likes office work, since my replacement is home in Arizona having back surgery.

On my latest trip to the airport to deliver a departing sister missionary, I noticed that, in addition to the big red rabbit in Terminal B, there are also birdcages hanging from the ceiling.  They make more sense to me than the rabbit, since I've yet to see a rabbit of any color here, never mind red.

WEEKEND AT "HOME"

Since I brought a whole basketful of sewing/quilting projects with me, I decided I'd better stay home last weekend and work on them.  It felt good to piece a quilt top while listening to a book on tape.  Only problem is that the quilt top was a project I purchased here, and the UFO's are still in the basket.

I was also able to finish my mission/Fair Oaks chicken puzzle, with some help from Sister Thompson.  The first part of the puzzle was really hard; the middle part kinda fun, but the last of it was purely annoying.  I was down to fewer than 30 pieces of solid black background that didn't seem to fit anywhere.  I was considering flying either Jill or Chloe out to finish it, when Sister Thompson came to the rescue.

I Would Gather Thee

Today we received 27 new missionaries--the first batch of younger ones.  They arrived at the Mission Office around 11:00 a.m.  By 4:00 p.m. they'd been fed, photographed, interviewed, and trained.  We have their driving records and their medical records.  They have more information than they can possibly remember.  Elder Cherrington has devised such a detailed flowchart plan that, rather than being overwhelmed and overworked, we were almost bored.  They had been awake since 3:30, and they still had dinner at the Mission Home ahead of them before they could go to sleep...on mattresses placed on floors throughout the McKay House, where the Assistants and Office Elders live.  Because of the increased number of missionaries, the senior staff is no longer invited to those dinners, which is a relief to me.  It always made for a long day.  Tomorrow morning is my favorite day, when they receive their companions, their assignments, and their shiny new bikes, and are turned loose upon the world.  They may be young, but this group seems particularly sharp to me, even the elder I came upon who was leaning against a wall, nearly asleep.      

LOOKING HOMEWARD

Last Saturday I attended the Folsom Quilt Exhibit.  It was wonderful--exceeded my expectations.  One group had created wall quilts, each having a red ribbon running through it.  Then they hung the quilts in such a way that the ribbon connected them.  Pretty cool.

(Wish I could do as well aligning them as the quilt hangers did.  This picture won't move up.)

On Sunday I held my annual Chinese New Year party and invited the Cliftons, the Cherringtons, Pete and Alta Hart, and Sisters Porter and Thompson.  We ate potstickers and compared notes about our Chinese zodiac signs.  The next day at the office I found a beautiful potted orchid on my desk with a Curious George thank-you card from "Alta, the monkey."  Good people.  Nice evening.

I enjoy the names I input from the baptism records.  Today's favorite was Tonia Sunshine Day.  Doesn't it make you happy to know there are people in the world with that outlook?

My replacement will arrive April 8, a transfer week.  I'll train her for a few days, then start for home by the end of the week.  I read a long email today from my MTC companion who was sent to an Indian reservation to set up an RN program at the local college.  After 9 months, living alone on the reservation in a trailer, she is being called into the mission office to complete her mission.  The Church is abandoning the program because of lack of involvement and follow-through by the proposed recipients.  She's disappointed at her lack of success in what she was called to do, but wrote that the Lord knew best and she didn't regret her effort.

I feel somewhat the same way.  The mission has not been what I expected.  But though I'm not entirely satisfied with my performance, I don't regret the effort.  I've been tested.  I've grown some, learned some, and I think contributed some.  The Lord knows best.

KEEPIN' ON

Not much to report.  We're still gearing up for the end-of-month onslaught of new missionaries.  At a planning meeting on Monday we spent two hours working out new housing, new cars, etc., when suddenly the President said, "We need a lot more phones!"  I'm sure we still haven't thought of everything.  Two missionaries arrived yesterday and another will come on the 19th, so the total for the 26th is down to 30.  Normally the flight from Salt Lake gets them here around 1:30.  President asked to send them on an earlier flight.  Can you imagine trying to interview 30 missionaries in one afternoon and be able to make companion assignments to begin the next morning?

The mission was audited last weekend.  We passed with flying colors.  The auditor remarked that he couldn't estimate the cost of paying for all the administrative work that is done on a volunteer basis...but he knows the Church could never afford to pay it.  With the increase of the young missionaries, there will be need for many more senior missionaries.  That's a qualified plug for missionary service....make sure you take your own companion.

Speaking of seniors, in April we'll receive 4 single senior sisters under a new program designated as Ward/Auxiliary Support Missionaries.  Working with stake presidents, they will be assigned to specific wards, I suppose much like the innercity missions in Utah.  In other words, they're callin' in the Relief Society, big time.  One of the sisters is 75 years old and has served 7 previous missions.

I've taken on additional duties.  The new car czar doesn't want to deal with bicycles, so he gave the job to me.  I guess that makes me the "wheeler dealer."  I've been coordinating bike sales between departing and arriving missionaries.  I'm still spending time with Sister Langi, of the broken kneecap.  She's a lot of help to me in the office.

WHEW!

Why does everything happen all at once?  The week before last was slow and even boring.  Then there was so much going on this week that I had to miss some of it.

For example, my friend, Marsha Adaams, was visiting from Utah.  I couldn't even get away to have lunch with her because we were processing new missionaries.  On Wednesdays of transfer weeks we go to the Temple with departing missionaries, then dinner and testimony meetings--a  rather long day.  The next morning they all leave for home.  There is no good flight connection, however, for the Islanders.  So, I had a young Samoan companion for 48 hours while she waited for her flight.  I'm sure I'll repeat the experience next month when Sister Angimarau leaves.

On Friday morning, Val was scheduled to fly into Sacramento where we would have lunch and some face time, then continue on to Clear Lake where she does decorating work.  The Salt Lake airport was closed for all but a few hours in the middle of the day.  By the time her plane arrived in Sacramento, it was too late for her to get to her final destination.  So, Val had a sleepover with us!  We spent most of the evening un- and re-packing Sister A's suitcases, which were 40+ pounds overweight.  I'm still finding discarded stuff:  in the trunk of my car, in my apartment, and in the office.  She was heartbroken at leaving her fur-lined leather boots here.  (Really?  In Samoa?)  She was also sad to leave behind the boxes of cookie mix she was taking to show how she had learned to bake.

Today we went downtown to the art museum to see the Norman Rockwell exhibition before it leaves next weekend.  It was wonderful.  I was pleasantly reminded how much of my life was portrayed in those paintings, from eating in a railroad dining car to welcoming home a soldier-hero.  I love how he showed life at the truest level, but with humor and optimism.

The rest of the museum was good, also.  This picture is for Ben:  an AK-47 and a grenade covered with blue and white porcelain.









It was a wild week, and I'm tired.  But the longest and my second-least-favorite month of the year is coming to a close.  And we had blue skies and sunshine again.  I'm OK with missing the extreme weather back home in Utah this year.

WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS

It's lemon season here, and it reminds me of zucchini season in Utah.  You can't go anywhere without someone pushing a sack of lemons on you.  I'm almost used to seeing oranges and lemons growing on trees. I got acquainted with a new tree today, a bay leaf tree.  Of course I knew that they grew on trees; they are, after all, leaves, but I'd never seen a huge tree full of them.  The cute little Chilean woman who owned the tree cut me a big branch to take home:  some for cooking, some to keep ants out of Sister D's domain, and some to keep moths out of closets.  She tells me that the tree would grow in Utah.  If so, why doesn't anybody have one?

It's 65 degrees today!  The second day in a row with clear blue skies, sunshine, and warmth.  Hard to remember that at the first of the week we were freezing.  The older I get, the more aware I am of how therapeutic sunshine is.  There is truly sunshine in my soul today.

The mission cowboy, from Moroni, Utah, had a birthday today.  He leaves for home next Thursday, so I was surprised to see a birthday "fat box" arrive at the office yesterday.  I can't imagine him wanting to stuff anything else in his suitcases; rather, they all leave stuff behind at the last minute.  It's "mail fast" week, so I'm not forwarding any mail until after transfers.  So I decided to take his package to him.  It's P-day and the sun was shining, so I drove up to Shingle Springs, then on to Placerville.  Those who've been to visit me know that Placerville is also called "Hangtown," but I'd never spent much time there.  Today I visited a very graphic historic site:

I also found a great little used book shop, and I'm well set for the remainder of my mission.  I read 99 books in 2012, the same number as in 2011.  (I have to write them down so I don't read the same ones over and over again.)  I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I've already read 9 in 2013.  If you want any recommendations, you'll have to ask me right after I finish one; otherwise, I can't remember.  But if I have total recall in the next life, imagine how smart I'll be!

MORE BIRDS

I have denied myself cute birdhouses all these years because I resented birds and didn't want to be hypocritical.  They ate the chicken feed and pooped all over the yard tools in the barn; they ate ALL the cherries off my trees and pooped all over the driveway.  So I find it odd how taken with birds I am here in California.

The latest sighting is of a pelican!  Right in my apartment complex, on the very top of a huge tree.  Seriously, right on top of the tree.  It makes me wonder how many things I don't notice at home in the busyness of life.

The mission got off to a rocky start this year.  There were four automobile accidents in the first week of January.  Yesterday a bike/car accident was phoned in.  The Church keeps their fleet in pristine condition, so every little bump and scrape is attended to, and it's costly.

Last night I got to help caravan a family of 10 to the Temple for a tour.  Elders Walker and Haufano had invited an investigator and her 9 children (5 of her own and 4 of her brother's, who is incarcerated).  They arranged for a ward member with a van for most of the kids, and I drove the mom and two youngest children.  The elders had even arranged for car seats for the little ones.  (I don't know why that surprises me.)  It was cold and the kids were rambunctious, but what a sweet experience.  The kids were smart and absolutely beautiful.  The mom is my new hero.  She's set a date to be baptized on the 22nd of this month.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's been cold here--really cold.  In the low 30's, which feels a lot colder than 30 does in Utah.  I sit in the reception area of the mission office, and the door is constantly being opened and closed.  Often, missionaries will open the door and lean outside to talk on their cell phones.  I'm beginning to understand why my predecessor shot rubber bands at them (the missionaries).

The count is in.  The California Sacramento Mission baptized 696 people in 2012; or as President Lewis puts it, the equivalent of two wards.

Pete Hart, Mr. BYU, has been bringing all his unwanted Christmas gifts to the office.  At first it was just candy and sweets.  Yesterday it was a pair of new leather gloves and a hat.  He's wonderful to these missionaries.

On New Year's Day we went on a walking tour of Sacramento.  It was really cold, but we saw parts of the city we hadn't seen before, including blue trees.  President and Sister Lewis went with us, and it was a nice, if cold, day.

BAPTISMS

Yesterday I participated in two baptisms.  In the morning, Dulcy was first married to her boyfriend and father of her daughter, then baptized.  One of the Relief Society sisters made her a beautiful bouquet of roses, and I made wedding cookies for refreshments.  Today she was confirmed a member of the Church in Sacrament Meeting.

In the evening, Farzareh was baptized.  It was odd how this came about.  The AP's got a phone call last Sunday from the Roseville Mission saying that an investigator had moved into our area and was ready to be baptized.  The sisters assigned to our ward asked me to go with them (not sure why) to visit her.  She's Iranian and had converted from Muslim to Christian about 5 years ago.  She was in an apartment with no furniture--we sat on the floor.  She's just undergone a divorce and was there with her two sons, handsome and charming boys.  She's living here temporarily, and has purchased a condo several miles away.  Her understanding was that she would be baptized in the Roseville Mission on Saturday night (last).  She was actually baptized in the ward where her condo is, which is in our mission but in an adjoining stake.  I drove the biking sisters.  Sister Agavale played the piano and I led the music.  One of our elders baptized her (his first), and the bishop from her old area in Roseville spoke.  It was one of the sweetest baptisms I've attended.  I think her sons will be right behind her.

In between baptisms, Judy Sisco and I saw Les Mis.  It's still, in my opinion, one of the finest things written about the nobility of the human spirit.  The movie version followed the Broadway production very closely, and I wasn't disappointed.

An emotional, uplifting, satisfying day.

CHRISTMAS

After Santa's run on Saturday, over 40 packages came into the office on Monday, Christmas Eve.  The office elders and assistants donned their elf hats and reindeer antlers and set off, again, to deliver Christmas cheer.

Elders Haufano and Walker



Christmas Eve was spent at the home of ward members, who served us a prime rib dinner on Spode Christmas china.  Wonderful!

On Christmas morning I hosted the six "little sisters" in our zone for breakfast.  One of them brought her family's traditional Christmas morning bread.  I made rice pudding and served egg nog with 7-up, neither of which was a hit.  But we had a good time.  They left to go skype with their families, then wash their bedding. Seems they had slept on the floor of the living room and made a nice fire in the fireplace early Christmas morning...without opening the flue.  I've been there and done that.  Undaunted, they planned another fire for Christmas night and were pretty sure they could pull this one off.  The office elders and assistants apparently had a sleepover, too.  They took the tree from the office to their home, so they could sleep underneath it.  Kind of a sweet mind picture.

One of the newer couples in the mission, the Hudnors from New Hampshire, invited us to share turkey dinner at their apartment in the afternoon.  Good food; good friends; good visit.

It rained all day.  Just as I was climbing into my flannel PJ's for an early night, the biking sisters called me to see if I would pick them up from the church where the zone was playing basketball. Still tucking "kids" into bed...

A few of my favorite things from Christmas 2012:  Elder Austin receiving a package containing his dad's missionary tag; the Star of Bethlehem flowers Brooke brought into the office, which have lasted all month; the generosity of strangers wanting to supply gifts for needy missionaries; the goofy Christmas cards the missionaries all made at Wal-Mart.

Star of Bethlehem flowers

                               


And through it all, the work went on.  We had 18 baptisms last Saturday, and 4 on Christmas Day.  A "white" Christmas and the promise of a happy new year.

HO HO HO

I'll try recap Christmas so far in the California Sacramento Mission.

Last week every missionary met with their zone at the Mormon Center for temple zone conference.  Christmas pictures were taken, instruction given, Christmas lunch provided by local Relief Societies, and a temple session was attended.  These conferences were held Tuesday-Friday, to accommodate everyone.

Meanwhile, back at the office, the last-minute packages started pouring in.  On Monday alone there were close to 200 delivered.  After weeks of carefully logging in each package, color-coding it by zone and placing in the proper "pile," things got out of control.  A sweet 87-year-old woman came in to help me.  She's very sharp and energetic and has great organizational skills.  I didn't discovered till midweek that she couldn't tell hot pink tape from florescent orange.

Some missionaries received 10-12 packages; others nothing.  We have 192 missionaries, so do the math.  We waited until the last minute to shop, since boxes were still arriving daily.  Some moms had called me ahead of time to ask for the names of Island missionaries who wouldn't be getting gifts from home, so we had extra help. On Thursday night,  after zone conferences and hauling and stacking boxes all day, we went shopping to buy pajama bottoms, sweaters, etc.  Friday night was spent loading the trailer.  I should mention here that it has been raining, seriously raining, for days now, so the loading and unloading was done in a downpour.

We left yesterday morning at 6:20 a.m., and finished our Santa run at 8:00 p.m.  After all the planning, there were still some missionaries who received nothing.  Some whom we had shopped for received packages yesterday, and the office elders waited at the office for mail delivery and then caught up with us with the day's deliveries.  But other packages that had been logged in for an individual didn't materialize.  We had some generic gifts to give them with no name tags but it was still hard to see one face in every group with nothing from home.  It's not a perfect world yet.  Everyone did receive a shopping bag full of hygiene items, candy, socks, etc., which we spent Monday night assembling.

Whew!  Santa's job is really hard.  And it's still raining.

But the up side of the week was watching the missionaries sing together, hug one another, and bear testimony of the meaning of Christmas and the joy they feel in being here, serving their Savior.  (Much like a spiritual Who-ville!)  Like them, I'll never forget my Christmas in the mission field.

BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Would anyone believe that I've been too busy to blog?  December has been a whirlwind and promises to get even wilder.

Last weekend I flew to Hollywood where I met up with Cheri Reynolds and we drove to the wedding of Nancy and Omar's son, Aron.  Quite the party.  Featured at the reception were professional dancers, complete with swords and such, performing to Middle Eastern music.  The food just kept coming.  Fun to see old college roommates.

Transfer week came at a challenging time.  I started holding the mail a week ago.  Being December, it's been much heavier than usual, so it was piling up around the office by the time I got back to town.  Now we're holding all packages so we can deliver them on December 22.  Yesterday we received 8 new missionaries, and today we sent home 14.  Included in those being released were Elder and Sister Clifton, who have been my dearest friends and supporters in the office.  Also leaving is my buddy, Elder Henderson, who made me laugh every single day.  (Hope that's not why he was transferred...)  I'll miss them all, but will be too busy to notice for awhile.  Yesterday and today were 14-hour days, including dinner for the "ins" and "outs."  Tomorrow I'll be a companion to a young sister from Christmas Island, whose flight isn't until Friday evening.
She's one of the islanders I took for a ride on the light-rail because they thought they might never have another opportunity to ride a train.  It was like taking kids on their first merry-go-round.  She's also been one of the biking sisters.

Sister Teerime, my companion of two days.  (Quite a change in the amount of "togetherness" between her and my other companion...always within sight and sound.)

A lot more has happened, but I'm too tired to think about it.  Will write later.

BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS

Feelin' pretty blessed.  I just took my biological sisters to the airport after their birthday visit to me.  I received so many good wishes from so many people that I am indeed counting my blessings:  family and friends.  As I told Linda and Jan, this was the best birthday of my adult life.  Thanks to all who sent me love and greetings.

I received a birthday party in a box from Sheree Reed.  Elder and Sister Clifton pictured left, and Jan and Linda pictured right.





I'll back up now and post pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner in a saloon.  It was great.  We chatted with the
nicest people while waiting in line for an assembly-line turkey dinner.  Later that day we walked through autumn foliage in 70-degree weather, then went to the movie, "Lincoln."  Lovely day.

Today is the second of three "squalls" predicted to drop 6 inches in the area.  The freeway from here going south is closed because of flooding.  The trip to the airport was pretty hairy.  This must be winter, California style.  And autumn was so short.  Oh well.  Still feelin' blessed.                            

VERY THANKFUL

Let me first catch up on the last week.  On Wednesday I saw my first-ever California rainbow.  It was huge, but faint.  This morning we were shrouded in fog.  I changed my mind about autumn leaves being the same all over.  Across the front of the church/office is a stand of bright red trees that are not done justice by the photo:

We had 11 new missionaries expected to arrive December 11.  Yesterday that amount increased by 9, all sisters.  And things take off from there.  The first new challenge will be to assign trainers for all of them.  Some will have to be in threesomes to begin with.  I'm now helping the housing coordinator with assigning housing inspections.  It's apparent how beneficial it is for missionaries to reside with members, thus eliminating all the start-up costs, leases, etc.  Seems friendlier, too, for the new missionaries who will be 18 years old.

Now for the thankful part.  At the top of the list is my knowledge of the Plan of Happiness and my relationship with the Savior.  I'm thankful for my family:  kids, grandkids, siblings, and extensions from there. They bless my life.  I've been fortunate to have found the best possible friends, old and new.  Life would be empty without them.  And I'm grateful for my health that allows me to most of the things that are important to me.  Other blessings I count are books, music, fabric, sunsets, friendly strangers, and, yes, today of all days, the turkeys that make me smile every day.

FINALLY FALL

We finally have autumn color here.  The leaves turned just as the Christmas banners were hung along the streets.  There are more squirrels around than ever, and last week I came face to face with a raccoon right around the corner from my apartment.  I had walked up the hill in back of my place to get a better look at the full moon.  When returning,I saw an animal with bright red eyes watching me.  I walked right up to it, and it just stared me down.  Even the turkeys are spruced up.  They've been fanning their tails, and they look much fatter.  It's as if they know it's Thanksgiving, and they're just showing off.  I'm still surprised to find myself surrounded by so much wildlife.

Wasn't sad to see the end of last week.  It was a busy week, with a lot going on.  I watched the election results at Judy Sisco's house with a group that was unanimously disappointed at the outcome.  Not surprised, but disappointed.

The mission received several new cars, Chevy Cruzes this time.  Trucks were sent to the higher elevations in anticipation of winter weather, so a lot of trading was done.  Now it's time to gird up for holiday mail and packages.  Parents have been notified that if they write "Christmas" on the outside of their packages, we'll hold them until December 22 when the office staff plays Santa and delivers them all around the mission.  I'm sure it will be a wonderful day, getting to see all the missionaries and wish them a Merry Christmas.

No pictures to include today.  I've been unable to capture the beauty of the sunsets here, and autumn leaves look just autumn leaves anywhere.  I'm just happy they finally showed up.