Our week began Monday morning with some mission admin work. I
finished our June report and emailed it to Salt Lake, President Lee and
President Heywood. I also wrote our weekly blog and published it. Pam and I went
to Costco and did some shopping, primarily getting drinking water. After
dropping off the items at our apartment we had lunch and then made some calls, primarily
to the Alexander’s to see if Wes was able to get any help from his Elder’s
Quorum for his bathroom renovation. I talked with President Williams and made
arrangement with his counselor Brother Robinson to borrow a Sawzall to cut off
the toilet drain tomorrow. Late in the evening we received a call from
President Patch of the YSA Branch describing a phone call he received from a
father of a young single girl (Elizabeth Stenson) who is attached to a HSN Helicopter
squadron at NAS Jacksonville. She was physically assaulted, and the father
hoped the church could contact her and help if possible. President Patch
thought it would be something we might want to follow up on and we agreed. We
called the girl but got no response.
Tuesday, we began our morning going to a reclamation center
and picked up a Sawzall to use at the Alexander’s home. From there we drove to
the USO and spent the bulk of the day. Pam worked in the kitchen preparing meat
for Monday’s “No Dough” dinner and I worked in a new storage room; moving boxes
of items from the outside storage room to the new room and sorting, throwing
away, and placing them in their new locations. It was amazing how much stuff
they have accumulated, but they want the outside storage room cleared out of
everything except food by the 16th of July when they plan to start a bi-monthly
food distribution program. At 2:00 pm I drove to the Fetner & Hartigan,
Periodontics office for an appointment. I saw one of the Fetner sons, Alex
Fetner, and he evaluated a problem tooth. His assistant took x-rays of all my
teeth and then Alex came in and did a thorough examination which took about an
hour. At the end he laid out what could be done for the tooth and it wasn’t
good. He thought the root of the tooth was cracked which was causing infection
and destroying the bone around the roots. He recommended removing the tooth and
doing a bone graph and eventually another implant, or perhaps nothing. I made
no decision and paid for the office visit and returned to the USO to pick up
Pam. After about a half an hour we got the place locked up and then returned to
our apartment. We discussed my visit and she wanted me to have the work done
right away. In the evening we drove to the Alexanders and Wes and I went
upstairs and within 30 minutes had the drain pipe cut off and a new flange
installed against the new floor. I discussed filling around the flange and
screwing the flange to the floor and then we left. We called Elizabeth Stenson (at
the Naval Air Station) this afternoon and made contact and an appointment to
visit her Wednesday morning.
Wednesday, we left our apartment and drove directly to the
Naval Air Station and met with Elizabeth at 10:00 am. It was the 4th
of July, so the USO was closed and Elizabeth had the day off. We met at her
barracks on base and visited for about 45 minutes. She seemed like a very nice
young woman, a member all her life and had been less active for the past few
years and she wanted that to change. She was assaulted by a member of her
command recently and a legal process was ongoing. We talked about attending the
YSA Branch and at the end of the visit I gave her a Priesthood blessing which
she wanted. We planned to maintain contact with Elizabeth and see her
frequently. At our apartment we called President Patch and relayed information
about our visit and he said he would contact Elizabeth and arrange for her to
be picked up for church. In the evening we drove to the Dunn Avenue Sister’s
apartment (Sister Roderick & Newman) and picked them up and drove to the
River’s shopping Mall and had dinner at the Olive Garden. It was nice to get to
know them a little better and to provide a meal. Normally we would have had
them come to our home, but it’s quite a distance for them to drive.
Thursday Pam and I left early for the USO and opened the
facility and there was no bread or pastries. Both items were delivered later in
the morning. Pam did some work in the kitchen (quite a bit actually) as she
cleaned out all the cupboards, removing items that were no longer used and straightening
up. I went into the children’s room storage area and continued moving items
from the outside storage to the children’s room storage area. The Director
arrived at noon and she made some decisions on things to be placed on the
“free” table and by the end of the day we had made quite a dent in things that
are never used or need to be distributed to needy families. At 11:30 am I returned
the Sawzall and then came back to the USO and worked for another couple of
hours. 2:30 pm Pam and I said our goodbyes and left for the day. We had a late
lunch and then went to the Alexanders and tended her kids while Tara went to a
doctor’s appointment. We visited for a few minutes and then Tara went to her
appointment and I went outside and mowed the front lawns which were very, very
long, but it cut okay and looked better when done. Got to remember to cover up
and use bug repellant next time. Wes leaves on a short deployment on the 16th
and I have made a commitment to take care of their lawn while he is gone. After
Wes returned, Pam and I returned to our apartment for the night.
Friday morning found us at the USO again Joyce Schellhorn,
Director, was there along with a dozen ladies holding a women’s meeting in the
south main room. The children’s room storage area was blocked with children, so
I went to the outside store room and continued working there reorganizing the
room and moving some things inside and reposition others. Joyce gave me the
final decision on arranging the metal shelving and then I moved 2 pallets of
water and one pallet of girls scout cookies to accommodate the change. Pam
worked in the kitchen and in the office. Cheryl Vandiver arrived with food for
Monday’s dinner and we helped unload and put the food away. We left at 1:30 pm
and drove to an Express Lube and got the van serviced. We also had the AC
charged. We then had lunch at Tijuana Flats, a new restaurant for us, and it
was very good—we might see them again! From the restaurant we came home and
rested for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening we returned to the Beach
and attended a ward celebration for Elder Roy’s “Burning a Suit” ritual for
Elder’s leaving for home. This was held at the Jarvis home and Lance Jarvis had
a suit filled out with a wooden body in a bucket and then placed it over a
firepit. Following a fun evening of games and food everyone gathered by the
suit and Elder Roy lit it off with sparklers and lighter fluid. It made for a
nice roaring fire and a lot of cheering. Elder Roy passed out sprinklers to
everyone and the kids had a good time. He would be missed in the ward and throughout
the mission.
Saturday, we cleaned our apartment and did laundry until
about noon. We decided to see a little more of the mission and went for a drive
across the St. John’s river through downtown Jacksonville and southwest to
Gainesville, Florida. Once on country roads the scenery was green and very
rural. The many small towns we passed through were interesting and didn’t seem
to have changed much in the last 50 years ago. Gainesville, however, was a
large city, the home of the University of Florida “Gators.” We found our way to
the downtown area and drove through and around the University and it was a
pretty impressive campus. We began looking for a place to eat and eventually
found a Chic-fil-A adjacent to the northeast corner of the university and had lunch
and watched students. The academic buildings were an orange-red sandstone brick
and quite beautiful. The northeast corner of the campus was a historic area and
22 buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. So, a lot
of history there. Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua
County with a population of about 130,000. We have two Senior couples working
on the campus (Institute and Records Preservation) and also 9 regular
missionaries companionships throughout the city. We found our way out of the
city and began the drive back to Jacksonville, encountering a lot of rain, but
made our way home and spent some time making our bed and putting away laundry.
In the evening a set of Sister’s (Redford & Ferguson) came by to asked for
help fixing a dress of Sister Redford’s. Pam looked at the dress and the fabric
was a very loose weave and was coming apart at various stress points. She explained
what could be done, and Sister Redford was okay with the repair. They left, and
Pam spent the next hour repairing about 10 spots on the dress with iron on
fabric and then re-stitching the seams. It looked really good and Pam hoped it
would last. At 9:00 pm we joined a conference call with all the missionaries in
the mission for transfers. After an opening by the AP’s President Lee made some
announcements and then began describing the upcoming transfers. There are 13
new missionaries coming next week and the Jacksonville East Zone (where we live
and operate) really got a shakeup. In the Dunn Avenue District every
companionship except one received a change, either in missionaries or in
assignment as ZL or DL. In the Fort Caroline District every companionship was
also affected by the transfers. Companionships changed, we get a new Sister from
the MTC and also the Jacksonville Beach Ward will have Sister’s for the first
time in many years. Pam and I were also asked to host a pair of new Elder’s
Tuesday evening after they have their orientation, interview and dinner with
the President. We will pick them up about 10:00 pm and bring them to our
apartment for the night and then deliver them to the Mandarin Chapel at 7:45 am
Wednesday morning to meet their new companions and for training. Not much
sleep!
Sunday morning, we were up early and left for the
Jacksonville Beach Ward by 9:30 am. This morning we had no one to pick up.
Alexis Connelly bought a car, but she was also sick with a migraine this
morning. Tyler Gneck also received his truck (his dad and brother drove it out
during the week) and he was at church. The LaGae’s were there and the girls and
Clive behaved themselves quite well during sacrament meeting and the rest of
the block. It was nice to see Jerald with his family. Sacrament meeting was
excellent and Elder Roy was given an opportunity to bear his testimony at the
end. We had a good Gospel Principles class and then Tyler, Jerald and I
attended the Elder’s quorum meeting where they had a good discussion on
service. Following the meetings, I saw Tyler’s truck and he was pretty happy to
have it. A Ford 150 short bed with a shell. When Pam and I departed, we drove
along 3rd Avenue towards Beach Blvd to find the “Beam” building and a food
pantry across the street in the Beach Church. Tomorrow morning, we will stop
there and pick up some hot dogs for the USO. We returned home and had dinner
and a quiet evening.
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