Day off at the beach

Work in the mission office has been hectic lately, so it was with great joy that we were able to take off Tuesday the 13th because of the office being deep-cleaned. With Elder and Sister Monney in the back seat, we drove south to Corona Del Mar to a wonderful beach, where we were able to take in the beautiful sky, the water and the peaceful surroundings. (It also happened to be the first summer day without June gloom, as it's called here.) We later met our granddaughter Keely at Ruby's Cafe on the pier at Balboa Peninsula. It is the original Ruby's and has been here for over 60 years. The building and pier originally housed an anti-aircraft battery during World War II, purportedly to help keep the Japanese from invading. The food was good, after which we watched as about 100 kids in a junior life saving class were practicing jumping off the pier into 15 feet of ocean water.

We then ended the day by spending of couple of hours out of the sun at the Mile Square Park on Euclid and Edinger in Garden Grove.

On July 5 we enjoyed a barbecue at the Mission Home for all of us office workers. Elder Monney, who is an expert at Texas barbecue, cooked the meat. It was exquisite! At this informal setting we learned about some changes in the church's missionary work and will be gearing up to prepare the missionaries for these improvements.

(There are the four of us, standing above the beach on a 'porch.' )

We still feel very blessed and fortunate to be on this mission, despite its challenges and busy days. The spiritual growth has been immeasurable, not to mention that we have learned and all that we have contributed to the missionary effort -- especially by being friends to these 170 missionaries who are away from home, some of them for the first time in their lives.