Miraculous conversion story

The highlight of the week was a baptism President Watrous sent us to in Newport Beach. Brother and Sister Hans Weig visited sacrament meeting six weeks ago at the Harbor Hills ward. They fell in love with the church, and here they are all smiles, with their four darling children under the age of 8. Hans will get to baptize them some day. They are such a good family. We talked them both afterwards and asked if we could be invited to their sealing in the temple. This couple is what the Gospel is all about: in many ways.

Last night we went to the temple with nine other members of the ward to do sealings in the Newport Beach Temple. They were all the family names of Brother Redman and his wife. We were able to perform sealings of couples and daughters to parents. Then after Gary served as a witness next to the sealer, he was proxy for about ten sons being sealed to their parents. A most happy evening with the Redmans, our Bishop, and his counselor and his wife. We feel even more the sense of belonging to this ward.

Tuesday Elder Budge and Gary had a little excitement in the office, but they kept quiet about it around the sisters. A young man came to the door asking for a drink of water. Elder Budge asked about him, and the man said he was an escaped prisoner from the drug rehab center. After the man left, somewhat incoherently, Elder Budge called the Santa Ana police and described the man, as only a retired policeman could do. He didn't want any of the many children walking home from school right then to be molested by this 'druggie.' The sisters, including Signe, had no idea this had happened.

Monday Gary received an e-mail from BYU Studies. Just before getting the call to Anaheim, he had been writing a book review of George Weigel's Against the Grain, a book assessing the current status of the Roman Catholic Church, with several matters that squared with Mormonism. Jim Summerhays of BYU Studies was now asking Gary to give a final proof of the review so that it could be published in the next issue. (Gary had thought the review was a lost cause.)

All is well in California Zion. We are amazed at the testimonies of the ward members, those who spoke at the baptism, and the wonderful spirit in the sealing room of the temple. We are indeed blessed!

Ten baptisms and a party

Week 14 began with a holiday -- Labor Day. We used it as a day for shopping, especially for fruit for the famous fruit salad plate Signe would create for the party this evening. Every year President Skaggs (a member of the missionary presidency) has the Mission President and the office staff over for an evening pot-luck party with some of his family. The food was great, and the conversations with Presidents Watrous and Skaggs, and with Elder Budge, we interesting and fun-filled. From right to left are President Skaggs, President Watrous, Sister Watrous, Signe, Gary, Sister Healey, Sister Skinner, Sister Budge and Elder Budge. It was a perfect evening, with perfect weather in their lush backyard.

The rest of the week fairly whizzed by, moreso than some other weeks. President Watrous asked both of us to monitor phone use by the elders, and Gary spent most of the week setting up utilities for new apartments and helping Elder Wong make decisions on which apartments. Gary also spent much of Friday auditing gas receipts on the church's PaymentNet, something he also did while at BYU.
Saturday we were asked to attend a baptism in Costa Mesa: to be with the elders and to take the adjoining photograph. It was one of the most spiritual baptisms we've ever attended. Ellyne Denker was positively beaming when she emerged from the font, and then we witnessed something neither of us had ever seen before. While Ellyne was changing, the congregation was invited to make comments. Two of them were a non-member relative and a non-member friend (wearing a cross). They were very supportive of Ellyne's baptism, since her joining the Church had clearly changed her attitude about many things. Bishop Watkins then welcomed her to the ward and said some loving things that would make even the most calloused non-member interested in our beliefs. A young Elder Reidhead, from Springville, also gave a short talk about the importance of missionary work. A great afternoon in all ways, especially since it added to deeply to our own testimonies of the Gospel!

Sunday was a long day: ward council, the three-hour block, and choir rehearsal. But we remember we are involved in the Lord's work. We've tried to call our 'charge' Jessica, but she hasn't answered her phone. We continue to pray for her.

First week in September

Meet our oldest grandchild Keely and her two roommates Tiffany (left) and McKenna (middle). They had us over for Sunday dinner yesterday, and we hope to get together at least once a month. Finding their apartment in Irvine was yet another experience in exploring Orange County and traveling on these massive freeways, some of which are 16 lanes of traffic -- and still crowded.
The dinner ended a different sort of Fast and Testimony day for us. A new friend named Jessica (40-something years old) met us to go to church for the first time in 13 years. She's had some very upsetting things happen in her life, and we were asked by President Watrous to help her with her faith. Jessica, in fact, wants us to teach her as if she were a non-member investigating the church. (She has German, Polish and French background.) We first met her last Thursday night at our apartment, since that was most comfortable for her. It was an emotional evening, with my giving her a 'father's blessing' at the end. We asked her to consider us family. She's grafeful.

Once again the huge California fires have begun again. The Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest has burned over 90 structures and has forced thousands to evacuate their homes. We can smell and taste the air with its ashes, and many of you in Utah have complained about the smoke from this fire of 267 square miles fouling the air of Utah. When we left the mission office at 5 on Monday, this is what it looked like. It reminded us both of the Mt. Saint Helens volcanic eruption some years ago. The clouds are from the superheated air from the fire. One fire bomber, a World War II vintage Martin Mars, dropped 7500 pounds of retardant to keep the fire from burning Mt. Wilson Observatory and the nearby TV transmitters. (Gary had visited that mountain back in 1960.)

Meanwhile, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were our three zone conferences. (Since we've gotten here they've added another zone to the existing 5.) While the elders and sisters were inside getting all-day instruction from the Mission Presidency and Sister Watrous, Elder Budge and I were out in the hot parking lots all three days checking fluid levels, tires, interiors, and unreported damage for the 53 Toyota Corollas, Chevy Malibus, Mazda 3s, Dodge Caravans, and one Chevy Silverado pick-up the mission owns. Then we had to decide on which three cars (each of the three days) were so clean that they deserved cleanliness awards, what we call the Silver Purpose awards. (Gold Purpose is for missionary work, Silver Purpose is for cleanliness. Top award each day is a metal statue of a Porpoise engraved with the name of the mission.) Being on his feet for so long all three days really bothered Gary's back, so he needs to cut down on this activity in the future. His forte was putting together a Power Point slide show of 38 baptisms from the last transfer. President really appreciated that.

Finally, Saturday was the fourth Newport Beach Temple tours we are in charge of. We had almost 100 people show up for the two sessions, and we had bought the perfect amount of cookies and punch. Gary trained our new office elders, Chandler and Lee, how to set up and run the DVD projector in the chapel. Whew, what a busy week! The work never ends!

The photo you see above is of the Orange Stake Center, where our ward meets at 1 p.m. Today we spoke in sacrament meeting, sharing our time with the Ward Mission leader. We must have done a good job, for the congregation was raptly attentive to our remarks. The ward organist even told us they were the finest talks she had heard in a long time! And Signe played her signature violin piece, "Meditation from Thais" as the musical number. Afterwards, many ward members were effusive with praise for our talks and the music and welcomed us to the ward. We love the reception we've received. After the three meetings, we attended our first ward "Linger Longer," which is only done on fifth Sundays. The theme was salads: very fitting since the temperature outside was 99 and fueling the 20,000 acre fire in the Angeles National Forest north of L.A. (The smoke above L.A. reminds us of the Mt. St. Helens eruption years ago.) Sad. 2300 homes have been evacuated.

It's been an extremely busy week, with four missionaries going home on Monday and fourteen new ones arriving on Tuesday. Unfortunately, one of the departing elders left his former vehicle at the new missionaries' apartment in Costa Mesa in a NO PARKING area, so the car was towed. Elder Budge and I had to drive down to Costa Mesa to retrieve it from the impoundment yard and pay $234.

Tuesday night we had dinner at the Hometown Buffet in Costa Mesa and ended up sitting right next to an LDS family of three generations who were giving their daughter/ grand-daughter a send-off to BYU. They even have a relative, Dora, who works in the BYU library. (If any of you librarians are reading this, please tell Dora: I forget her last name.)

Wednesday Gary began training two new office elders: a different Elder Lee from Korea and an Elder Chandler. He trained them on Housing spreadsheets, which are absolutely necessary since we now have 51 apartments and 5 member homes to keep track of. Signe is learning how to be Secretary to the President, since a new office couple who may arrive in October will fill her Financial Secretary role. In the evening all six of the office staff had our monthly staff dinner out: at Chili Pepper Mexican restaurant, the same place we took Mike and Ginny to the week before. (It will be one of our favorite places.)

Friday we both tried to get caught up with Vehicles, Housing and Finances. Then just after 4 Gary got an e-mail from President Watrous wanting him to order 15 twin mattresses to be delivered on Monday. Somehow Gary got that all done before 5 p.m.

Saturday Gary increased his swimming lengths to 18, up from 4 in the beginning -- using three different swimming strokes. He's feeling stronger now and getting some muscle around the middle. After doing laundry we went to the Segerstrom Hall box office in Costa Mesa to get tickets for the Midori concert in September. This is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to hear one of the three best violinists in the world. The we went shopping at Sam's Club in Irvine across from the two 300-foot long dirigible hangars of 1930s vintage. Later, as we were getting settled around the computer to watch the new (and great) LDS film "Forever Strong" on Netflix, Elders Lee and Chandler rang our doorbell, thinking that ours was the residence of a less-active member. (I had actually seen some unforwarded mail sent to this person.) But it was a funny coincidence to close the evening.

Chili Peppers and Baptisms

What an incredible week! We've just returned from the first baptism we've attended: a Spanish-speaking one in Costa Mesa. Fourteen-year old Karen Guzman was baptized by Elder Zamora, but she was also taught by Elders Sharp, Keeler, Sua and Montague. (Signe took the photo for the mission's records.) We enjoyed singing the hymns in Spanish, and Elders Matthias and Keeler interpreted the rest of the service for us. The Spirit was there in abundance. This was one of 18 baptisms this weekend! In church earlier, Gary was asked by the bishopric to play the piano for priesthood every Sunday now -- just like he has for most of the 40 years of his membership in the Church.
Monday Gary's brother Mike and his wife Ginny came to the Mission Office to pick us up for lunch at Polly's in Orange. They are in town because their daughter Caroline was just hired by the Children's Hospital of Orange County two miles from us. We had fun with them and help them get settled in our spare bedroom for the next three nights. (The same place where any of you are welcome to stay if you come to Disneyland or any other reason.) Tuesday night they went with us and the other office staff to Tustin's excellent outdoor performance of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes." It was a very fun evening, punctuated by 30 jets flying over us on their way to landing at John Wayne airport.
Wednesday Mike and Ginny spent some time with other relatives and went swimming in our pool. In the evening the four of us went to the very colorful and inexpensive Chili Pepper Mexican Restaurant in Orange. The food was very good! Thursday morning Mike and Ginny headed south to San Diego.
In the afternoon ... well, can you imagine four elders, including Gary (with white shirts and ties) marching down the aisles in Wal-Mart with one cart apiece filled with three vacuum cleaners, three microwaves, six wastebaskets, six mops and two lamps? It must have been quiet a sight to strangers! They had to buy some basic household supplies for some new apartments the mission has acquired for the growing number of new missionaries that are coming to the mission.
In the evening Gary went with the elders to visit a less-active sister. Signe was home to receive a SKYPE message from Jacob with the happy news that Rebecca Grace Hale was born (7 pounds 7 ounces). We also found out that Signe's niece Michelle Deus West had moved to Anaheim Hills (in our mission). So with our granddaughter Keely moving here next week, we have family here!

On Saturday Gary was doing his exercises in the pool and then had a 'missionary moment' in the spa -- and possibly new friends. Ezekiel and Meredith came out to get some sun and were very friendly -- and had just moved into the complex. When they found out that Gary was a missionary, they announced that they too were believers and went to a non-denominational church. We hope to see them again -- and often. Then, in the evening, we invited Elder and Sister Budge, plus the senior sister missionaries, to watch "Anything Goes" in our apartment: the 1956 version with Bing Crosby and Mitzie Gaynor. We had a wonderful time together! We can easily understand how missionaries miss the people they serve with.

This seemed to be a week for stake presidents -- and no photos (sorry!). First of all, we had our usual chiropractic treatments from Dr. Art Francis, president of the Anaheim East Stake. He has become a true friend and has helped us feel so much better.

Then on Saturday we were involved with the Newport Beach Temple tours once again. We had 70 English-speaking in the congregation, and 40 Spanish-speaking. And for the first time I had to set up the video projector in the chapel -- and operate it! And of course Signe and I directed and played hymn 300 again. It is always fun to play and direct in the Spanish session, not understanding much ourselves but enjoying the spirit of these Spanish-speaking families. The Newport Beach Stake president, Weatherford Clayton, not only spoke in the English session, he led one of the tours of the temple grounds. An obstetrician, he has delivered 6000 babies! He and Gary had a nice chat afterwards. He is happy to have us at the mission. Then Gary assisted him and President Day in administering to President Skaggs, who has not been feeling well. We were delighted at the end of the meetings to learn that our mission has 268 investigators committed to baptism within the next three months! Incredible!

Sunday morning was stake conference for the Orange Stake. The talks and the music were very inspiring. Not only did the well-trained organist play exceedingly well, Gary was thrilled that his postlude was a piece he had always enjoyed by J. S. Bach. The intermediate hymn was "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," with everyone in stake center standing. But the highlight of the music was the stake choir's singing of "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" and "Beautiful Savior," both of them accompanied by organ, piano, and Signe on her violin. At the end of the second number there was hardly a dry eye in the chapel, including our own eyes.

The members of the stake presidency gave wonderful talks. The first counselor spoke about how spiritual growth can be characterized by your insides becoming greater than your outside. And that we can enhance our capacity for joy through our faith and hope. Our stake president, Kenneth Goodman, is A. Harold Goodman's cousin, who was Signe's music advisor when she was at BYU. He spoke about the six spirits we should have: the Holy Spirit, a Pioneer Spirit, a missionary Spirit, a Zion Spirit, the Spirit of Elijah, and the Spirit of Consecration. What was really wonderful about his message, however, was that he delivered it with "all the feelings of a tender parent." While we miss our stake in Utah, the Orange Stake has done a wonderful job in making us feel at home. I might add that there were 13 missionaries, most of them elders, in the congregation.

The president of the Newport Beach Temple also spoke. He related that the temple has seen 247,000 ordinances performed since January 1. That is unbelievable for a small temple! We feel blessed to be among these California saints and their faithfulness.

Missionary moments and Fireworks

This past week our tasks began to be so much more routine, so there isn't as much to report. On Tuesday Gary went with the elders to a Wal-Mart to buy vacuum cleaners and floor lamps for the new apartments we are renting. The Missionary Department in Salt Lake wants us to get away from two bedroom apartments housing four missionaries, to one bedroom apartments housing only two (except for Zone Leaders). Another interesting note on that day: Gary's Cousin Faith Allen had written a funny e-mail to the family at large, to which Gary responded. Now Gary and Faith are catching up their lives by writing to each other twice a day since then. (They haven't communicated in over 40 years!)

Wednesday our wonderful chiropractor gave a seminar to us on healthy backs and how we can help keep his adjustments to our back in place better. What a great man!

Thursday Gary's left foot became infected somehow. We were worried for a short time, but with the help of some black ointment, epsom salts and rest the angry and painful redness finally stopped short of the ankle and ebbed away. As of Sunday night it has all but disappeared completely.

Friday Gary drove the Toyota the sisters wrecked two weeks ago to Solesbee's Autocraft in Yorba Linda, following Elder Budge. He got a real education at a large and well-run body shop, where we take all of cars to be 'mended and unbended.' The owner is LDS and gave us a short tour of his operation. Fascinating! He also collects as many translations of the Book of Mormon as he can find and displays them in the customer waiting area! What a conversation piece!

On Friday night, August 7th, we took a night off and went with all the office staff to view the fireworks at Disneyland's parking lot. The Budges have season passes, so they took us to the parking structure, where we caught the tram into Downtown Disney. We ambled down the streets, admiring the musicians and catching the friendly smiles of the passersby. Three times we were stopped and greeted by members of the Church, who visited with us briefly. One couple grew up in Springville, and said their nephew was on a mission in Paris, speaking Mandarin! Another left us with a hearty "The Church is TRUE!" We all went into the Haagen Dasz shop for a treat, which we ate while we sat on a bench and people-watched. Budges wanted us to see the California Lodge Hotel, so we walked into the back entrance, along with other tourists, and gazed at the amazing 5-story high open foyer. It was massive, built with huge timbers and boulders. Quite a sight! We sat on couches and chairs while we listened to a pianist playing Disney tunes. Then we headed for the upper story of the parking structure, so we could watch the fireworks. There were just a few people there, but after we got settled in our places, there was quite a crowd gathered. The fireworks were amazing, with the very loud percussive fireworks actually setting off car alarms. (We were actually closer to the fireworks than the folks in Disneyland proper.) It was a very fun evening.

We spent our p-day on Saturday doing laundry and shopping in Fullerton, with a game night at the senior sisters for all six of us. We played, talked and ate from 6 until 10:30 at night! What a great office crew we have to work with.

Finally, Sunday was a typical Sunday, with a chance to recount our many blessings!