Works of Art

Signe and the others senior sisters design a bulletin board for the office each month. This month's we thought was a work of art, featuring all the Prophets of the Restoration and a little note attached to each picture of what they were each especially known for.

Next, the most amazing tree we've ever seen is right in the front yard of our Ward building. It is called a "Coral Tree," and, as you can see, is covered with thorns. Spring has sprung around Orange County, and flowers are EVERYWHERE! Lilies (the Easter kind) grow wild, along with innumerable other varieties. Signe keeps the camera in her purse, so it is handy when we see a stunning site, which happens on a daily basis.

"The earth it did sha-ay-ayke!" Although Gary slept through it, Signe was rudely awakened by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake a few minutes after 4 on Tuesday morning. She felt a jolt, and then the bed shook for about 15 seconds. Later we discovered that when we asked the elders about it, invariably one elder felt the earthquake while the other one slept! Little damage, no injuries, but it makes some people in California nervous. Each missionary (including us) has his or her own Survival Kit, should a bigger one hit.

The car that was in an accident last week? The Church's insurance company told Gary this week that they are declaring the car totaled because of the extensive damage. We are so grateful that the four elders were protected!

Temple Tours on Saturday: many missionaries and investigators showed up for both the English and the Spanish sessions. During cookies and punch time Gary was able to talk to a highly educated man from Hungary. We hope he was touched by the Spirit. Then at 5 we represented the mission president at one of the twelve baptisms we had this weekend: this one in Costa Mesa. The person being baptized was a wonderful older lady by the name of Rebecca. The service was very nice.

And believe it or not, six weeks are over and another transfer happens tomorrow. This month we've received five new sister missionaries (including 2 of them ASL for the Deaf Branch) and one elder. One of the new sisters is a good friend of one of Gary's graduate students from BYU.

Two Weeks of Surprises

The weeks keep whizzing by! We can hardly believe that we're about at the half-way point of our mission. We've gotten so used to the wonderful people, the nice weather, the flowers all year-round, and the constant surprises, that we are very grateful we didn't let this opportunity pass us by. We don't fret about the future, because we know that whatever happens down the road is God's plan for us. The dreams and blessings have been more than overflowing.

Besides our health and participation in the Orange County Mormon Choir and Orchestra, Signe has had the opportunity to give health advice and some healing massages to our mission president's wife. President and Sister Watrous were very grateful for this added blessing to the mission.

Surprises with people: a few days ago we stopped at Taco Bell for a take out. Gary went in to the store to get our goodies. While he was waiting for his order, a young man who looked like a gang member (with the gang hair, tatoos and all) happened to be sitting nearby. He noticed Gary's name tag and asked him if he were a minister. After Gary responded that he was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the man asked where we worked out of and what we did (he knows the building). Then he confessed that he was having a light supper while he waited to go to a traffic school class at Santa Ana College across the street for his DUI conviction. Apparently he hit some yellow barriers on the freeway, totalling his car, but suffering only a minor injury. But this woke him up to a possible future that he didn't want. He also related the story of a beautiful 21-year old girl in his class who was DUI and killed someone with her car: 20 years behind bars! So sad. Anyway, he told Gary he wanted to change his life. Gary told him about the mormon.org website and about the Gospel in a nutshell -- and then they parted as friends, handshakes and all. Sometimes it pays to be courageous and bold!

In another instance, a man from India asked the mission president for a Book of Mormon in Hindi. Gary was happy to provide it.

Surprise 2: Gary sold two cars last Monday: one to a gentleman in Long Beach and another to a young family in Yorba Linda. Selling used cars is not his cup of tea, but he managed to do all of the paperwork correctly. But you couldn't pay him to be a used car salesman! Only 6 cars to go.

Surprise 3: After many weeks without a car accident with the missionaries, our number was up. Four elders were stopping at a fast food place in Santa Ana when they were struck from behind and sideswiped by a BMW with three teenaged boys in it. Despite over $3000 worth of damage to the missionary Mazda 3, there were no injuries (thankfully). It was the first accident Gary actually went out to investigate.

Surprise 4, related to Surprise 3: This one happened at 5 a.m . Saturday morning. As we've told you before our bedroom window opens out to a busy six-lane city street. Well, we were awakened by an awful crash, the immediate presence of a police cruiser (and later 3 more, plus fire truck and ambulance), and 12 feet of a housing development wall demolished across the street. Apparently two men fairly flew over the Santa Ana River bridge a block west of us with police chasing them and another one waiting down by our window at the Bristol St. intersection. In order to prevent a serious injury or fatality if the irresponsible driver got to the busy intersection (even at 5 a.m.), the police car did a 'pit bull manuever,' where he tapped the left front bumper of the speeding Ford Explorer, spinning him around so that he demolished part of the block wall, and came to rest on the sidewalk on top of a 'No Parking' sign. Again, no one was injured, but we could easily see the dejected and humbled faces of two handcuffed men sitting on the curb while charges were pressed and the debris was cleaned up. Needless to say, it was not possible to get back to sleep before we had to drive down to Newport Beach for our 4-hour rehearsal with the Orange County Mormon Choir & Orchestra. (What wonderful music: the best and most challenging either of us has performed.)

Today (Sunday) we relaxed, enjoyed our meetings, and felt the wonderful sunshiney weather out on the porch. We feel exceedingly blessed. We are also grateful that Gary's testimony at mormonscholarstestify.org was received so well by family members, colleagues, and friends on Facebook. Signe was actually the most instrumental in encouraging Gary to finish it and post it. We also felt blessed to help an elder get his military ID card renewed. In order to do so, President Watrous had us leave the mission and take the elder and his companion to Los Alamitos Army Air Field, on the way to Long Beach. Both elders were grateful for this little adventure west of the mission boundaries! And we were glad to help them.

Sorry, folks! It's been an incredibly busy two weeks. We're often so exhausted from work at the office (even during weekends) that we feel like doing nothing but vegetating!

Most of you know that Gary has built a lot of models during his life. This F/A-18E Super Hornet is the Navy's newest carrier jet, which he assembled and painted during the last 7 months -- as a stress reliever. But he had a purpose for building this particular model. It so happens that President Skaggs, who is a counselor in the mission presidency, is one of the designers of the real F/A-18 right here in Southern California. So at the March 23 departure dinner Gary will be presenting it to Pres. Skaggs as a token of their friendship and common interests. Gary has even been comparing the model to many pictures on the Internet to make sure everything is painted accurately.

The photo below is another kind of craft: tile-laying.

Signe went with Gary to the auto-repair shop that the mission utilizes, called Solesbee's. This is a picture of the in-laid tile logo at the entrance. This is the most amazing tile work we have ever seen; it's hard to see in this picture, but the logo is actually tiny laser-cut tiles pieced together and set into the rest of the tiles. The owner said the craftsman was so skilled, he didn't once crack or break a tile. Even those narrow, curved pieces at each end of the oval are cut into the big tile, leaving the entire rest of the tile intact!Kat, Steve & Artha, Lisa and Signe will really appreciate this, having done their fair share of intricate tile work.

Yesterday was an incredible day: virtually and in reality! On our 40-minute drive down to Newport Beach for our 4-hour joint rehearsal of the choir and orchestra for "Messiah in America" we were deluged with one of the fiercest rainstorms either of us has been in. And as we listened to the radio we not only heard about the rain, the flash flood watches, and the mud-slide warnings, but also of tsunami warnings from the awful 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Then we sang and played the exciting music in the chorus "There Arose a Great Storm" and felt like we were really in one, as the rain pounded the building on the outside. World-class music.

Two weeks ago we were happy to share some of the weekend with our family again. MaryJane (our oldest daughter) was in town to visit Keely (our oldest granddaughter), and all of us were invited to have dinner at Michelle West's home in Anaheim Hills Sunday. (Signe's niece.) It was a wonderful sharing time.

Last Sunday Gary gave a fireside to 80 young single adults in Irvine. He had entitled it, "Between Wow! and Whoa!: Embracing Opposition in All Things." One of the leaders present said he knew of several young people in the congregation who really needed his talk. The theme had to do with the growth we can receive from adversities.

Finally, last night we attended yet another baptism (one of 15 this weekend) -- this one in the Anaheim Stake Center. The young lady was very happy, and the ward was very warm in their welcoming her into the ward: especially the exuberance of the Tongan relief society president!

Once again we are grateful for all of the blessings from this mission. Signe has been a godsend for Sister Watrous, who benefits greatly from her massages.

Missionaries had a big thrill

The man responsible for turning over 10 Malibu's to us is named Dan, with a pen name of Dante. An ex-Marine, he writes poetry and has an unusual pet -- a bearded dragon. (Google it!) During our second to last trip down to Costa Mesa to pick up one of the brand-new cars you see below in the Mission Office parking lot, Gary had just signed the papers for the ninth car when he noticed a self-published book of poetry on Dan's office desk entitled "Situation Life." He offered it to me, along with a CD with Power Point presentations of his poetry. On our next trip down to pick up car #10 I presented him with a Book of Mormon and asked to take a picture of him with his critter. He and Gary became e-mail buddies, and he made personalized Valentine cards for Gary to give to each of the senior sisters husbands to give to their wives. It was very sweet of him.

Speaking of the senior sisters, another part of the thrill the elders received on Thursday (besides seeing all those new cars) was the visit of BYU former coach, Lavell Edwards. He is Sister Healey's brother, and he was in town to give a talk somewhere, and surprised her by stopping by to say hello. When the elders saw him, they nearly jumped out of their skins (our Korean elder said "He's one of my heros!). Anyway, it was a picture-taking moment and Brother Edwards was very gracious to us all. He even told Gary that when he was on a mission in New York City with his wife a few years ago, he had to drive a Ford Pinto with 58,000 miles on it, not one of the nice cars we have!

Last Saturday evening we had our own thrill! Our chiropractor, Dr. Arthur Francis, who is also president of the Anaheim Hills Stake, invited us and the mission president's wife to a benefit dinner at the Anaheim Hills Stake Center. There were 1200 Mormons and Methodists there for the annual fundraiser for the Anaheim Interfaith Shelter Halcyon. A silent auction was held and a wonderful prime rib dinner was served. We were then entertained by the Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County with selections from their production of "Hello Dolly!" The three of us had front-row tables in the huge cultural hall, and especially enjoyed the pure and beautiful vocal talents of Hailey Tweter, who embraced the Gospel last August. It was a great feeling to be mingling and sharing commonalities with fellow Christians for a common cause and with true friendship.

And speaking of Dr. Francis: Signe was honored by him last week when he recommended her massage talents to our mission president's wife, Sister Watrous. Signe has been able to help her feel much better. While she was massaging Sister Watrous, Gary was able to sit down with President Watrous and chat with him freely for over an hour and a half. It was a good to see the President relax (we're certain that he doesn't get much relaxing time). It also cemented even further our friendship with this fine couple.

Overhead the Moon is Beaming! (Sigmund Romberg)

January marked the beginning of a new Chinese branch in Irvine -- and the mission's first Chinese baptism! Gary has even had to order an entire case of Chinese copies of the Book of Mormon.

The week has been relatively quiet, although the mission was notified that we had ten additional 2010 Chevy Malibu's to pick up from the dealership in Costa Mesa, 17 miles away. Signe even drove Gary and Elder Monney down to pick up two so that we can get all the new cars to the Mission Office before next week's transfer -- and before the rain on Friday! Gary is in his glory driving these new Malibu's, which are nearly the perfect car, having received many awards. (It was designed and engineered by a BYU graduate.)
Sunday found us more involved in missionary work than we have to this point. John McClintock, a sweet man about our age, has been investigating the church for at least six months but has postponed his baptism because of family pressures. We took him under our wing Sunday in Gospel Doctrine and Priesthood classes, where he even participated by asking questions. He and Gary talked quite a bit, especially about the family pressures Gary experienced when he embraced the Gospel -- and losing friends, culture, his former church and career possibilities because he knew for a certainty that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. After our meetings we volunteered to take John home because he had asked us to help unburden his two orange trees in the backyard. We came away from his home with two cloth bags full of oranges, some the size of grapefruit. These will make the elders and sisters very happy.

We end the week with gratitude for the miracle of our beautiful tall Blue Spruce in the front yard falling in such a way that it only destroyed one shingle and a little soffitting on our Springville house. Unheard of 80 mph winds in Springville. It could have been much worse!

... and endeth!

Remember the photos we took last week of the dry Santa Ana River bed? Well, here's what it looked like last Friday -- and still today. Tornado warnings, hurricane-force winds, waterspouts, flooding, and power outages. What will tomorrow's storm bring? We watched the storms roll in both by looking out the windows and by checking the coastal radar and satellite shots on Wundermap.com. (Great site!) Being without power in the mission office on Thursday for 45 minutes was interesting, but we weathered the storm! (Ha, ha!) But the storm also took its toll on our house in Springville. An 80 mph wind knocked one of our pine trees over onto the house. (We'll send photos when we get them.)

Saturday was as un-stormy as the five days preceding it. Absolutely beautiful, especially on the drive from the Dover chapel (and OCMCO rehearsal) to the temple via Jamboree Blvd. in Newport Beach. It was a perfect day for temple tours, and while Signe helped prepare the punch and cookies, Gary set up the projector in the chapel and acted as gopher. Over 120 people showed up, many of them non-members -- including 16 Vietnamese, 6 Tongans and 20 Primary children. It was a great afternoon, but very tiring for both of us.

Gary had a four-hour rehearsal from 9 to 1. It was tiring and rigorus but also spiritually exhilarating and emotionally moving to be part of a professional choir for the first time in his life. The big treat was having the composer of the music field questions from the 200-voice choir as we took a break. Many times the music came from his own training and experience, but there were other tims (he related) when he looked up into heaven and exclaimed, "Thank you for that!"

Signe's rehearsal was 2 1/2 hours with the orchestra but equally demanding. This is some of the most difficult music we have sung and played. But the end result will be very rewarding.

This weekend there were 13 baptisms. We attended one in Anaheim Hills and were afterwards visited by Gary's brother Mike and his wife Ginny, with whom we also had dinner at El Torito Tuesday night. They are visiting their daughter Caroline again, who lives very close to us. We both rested well from a very hectic week, and Monday brings another busy day, with Gary having to process two 2010 Chevrolet Malibu's which he picked up at the dealer's on Friday.

The Big Rain Event Cometh

We've just returned from the Samoan baptism of Aiava Simona Tuifagu in the Garden Grove stake center, which is actually in Little Saigon, the Vietnamese business district. We understood very little of what was said, but we felt the spirit in abundance, especially with the exuberant singing of the Samoan hymns. Sisters Cook and Barlow taught the good brother on the left, who was baptized by the other brother, who was wearing a lava-lava. The pagoda-like building to the left is a Vietnamese hospital, right next door to the stake center.

We are awaiting what Southern California forecasters are calling "the biggest weather event in recent memory." When we left for the baptism at 2:30 it was not raining, so we took two photos of the dry river bed of the Santa Ana River, just a block from our apartment. In next week's blog we hope to take photos of the same area with the river swollen with rain water and run-off from snow in the mountains to the north. There will probably be flooding in some areas, and we have already seen people sand-bagging around their homes.

It has been a normal week, with nothing out of the ordinary except for the following miraculous story. Gary and Elder Monney drove to the northernmost part of the mission in Brea to rescue two elders whose gas cap broke and who weren't able to insert the gas nozzle the night before. The elders told us that that minor mishap required them to do some contacting by walking around the neighborhood instead of driving. They happened upon a man standing at a bus-stop crying and were bold enough to ask him what was wrong. The man replied that his wife had just died and that he was going home to get on his knees to find out what Church could best help him deal with his grief. He was surprised that these elders came out of nowhere to help him -- real messengers or angels.

Our granddaughter Emma Clark is getting ready to be married in the Draper Utah Temple to her sweetheart Matt over the weekend. While we will miss being there to witness their happy day, we are witnesses of the many blessings we are receiving while we are here on this mission.