Tree Trimmers and Identical Twins

June gloom brings June blooms! We see these beautiful hibiscus blooms each morning as we go into the office. They are Signe's favorite flowers down here. They are well taken care of by Elder Monney, who maintains the cars.

On Friday we were treated by the trimming of a really scraggly palm tree at the back of our parking lot at the office. A young man climbed the tree and cut off all the dead branches. It was amazing to watch him work. What is even more amazing is that there are so many kinds of palm trees down here: we've begun to notice the difference even more the longer we've been here.

In the last blog we told you about the realignment of the Orange Stake. By doing so our Palmyra ward is larger: that benefits our ward choir considerably. Sister Hess is one of the finest ward choir directors we've ever known, and now she (and the ward) are blessed by a wonderful choir of over 20 singers -- all good. Our rehearsal today was incredible! The changes in the ward have also meant changes in leadership. Now get this: our new bishopric second counselor and the executive secretary in our ward are 50-something year-old identical twins with almost identical beards. When they sit on the stand together it's hard to tell them apart!

Yesterday was Gary's birthday and tomorrow is Signe's but we celebrated both yesterday since we have 16 new missionaries arriving this week. We explored the area some more and attended one baptism in Fullerton, where Gary helped out by playing the hymns on the piano. But Friday night was the real celebration: the senior office staff treated us to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Garden Grove. Then we wandered Garden Grove's old main street area where the locals show off their antique and classic cars every Friday night. Many of them brought back old memories: Model T's up through '56 Chevys and a Cadillac with the big fins! Then we went to the Gem Theatre down the street for a production of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The music and the acting were both very good, and the small theatre meant that we had close seats -- four rows from the stage. So it was a fun evening for all of us!