COTTLE MISSION NEWS: February 2019

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Week 55 (18 - 24 February)

Monday morning, we were quite lazy as it was a holiday today and the USO was closed. Pam was feeling much better after two days on the anti-biotics and the pain in her abdomen was about gone. Her only concern was feeling tired. We planned to do some traveling south of the St. John’s River by NAS and check out some families. Pam also had a list of items she needed to do, so we left about 10:30 am and drove south crossing the river and proceeded to Fleming Island, south of the Naval Air Station. We used GPS to locate a list of families and first stopped at the Yuen home, but they were gone. Next, we drove to the Hoynacki residence and met Adam & Sidney and their 3 daughters. They welcomed us into their home, and we had a nice visit for about 20 minutes and learned they were from Carlsbad, California and Tallahassee and met at BYU. Adam was a doctor, stationed at the hospital at NAS and in his first year of residency. They would be at the hospital until 2021. Really a nice, active family. They told us about another family in their ward we didn’t know about; Tim & Catherine Sebreros. Tim a Navy Dentist and worked at NAS. Also, very active but transferring to Japan in June of this year. We next went the Skelton home, but they were also gone for the day. We moved to the Oakleaf Ward and tried to visit the Vanderwal family but got stopped at a security gate. I was able to talk to Kellie, but they were not home at that time. Our final visit was to the home of Skyler & Mary Ann Barger in the Orange Park Ward. They were in the middle of painting as they were getting their home ready to sell. They were transferring to Kingsville, Texas as Skyler had been accepted into a pipeline transfer program and returning to flight school to fly jets. He currently was a P-8 pilot attached to VP-44. Really a nice active family. It was past 2:00 pm when we crossed back over the river and made a stop at a Hobby Lobby where Pam found some fabric for a baby quilt. We also stopped at Costco and did some shopping for the USO and then had a late lunch/early dinner which was good. Finally, we arrived at our apartment, tired but pleased with the results of the day. Pam spent a couple of hours working on quilt layout plans and I updated our contact lists from our visits today. As we discussed the day, it became apparent that we could not do much with the families in the Jacksonville West Stake as it was just too far to travel to be very effective. The notion of calling another couple for NAS Jacksonville seemed the appropriate thing to do and we hoped Salt Lake would pursue that plan.

Tuesday morning, we noticed a lot of articles in the news on missionaries being able to video chat or make calls to their families yesterday on their P-Day and that was nice to see. Pam was up at 7:00 am this morning and we both did some studying and then got ready for the day. At 8:30 am I dropped Pam off at the Alexander’s to baby sit for Tara while she and Wes went to a doctor’s appointment at NAS Jax. I went to the USO and helped with the food delivery from Feeding Northeast Florida. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) and Dave Ostrum were at the USO and the delivery truck was just starting to unload pallets of food on the back patio. Another volunteer arrived and we sorted the meat. After a few minutes, it was apparent the meat selection was very poor and much of what was in the bin was tossed out. We spent the rest of the morning finishing sorting, filling bags and preparing for distribution tomorrow. Next, we attacked a bin with sundry items and placed them on tables in the lounge area. Finally, we placed a pallet of lettuce in the outside refrigerator and moved a pallet of potatoes into the lounge area. After taking a break another Delivery truck backed up to the patio entrance. It was a friend of Joyce’s that came to pick up furniture in the north end of the main room—tables and chairs from a renovation at a local American Legion building. For the next 2 hours we loaded tables and chairs into the back of the truck, and we accompanied them to a storage facility nearby and unloaded the furniture. Back at the USO we did the same thing with 6-foot round tables but didn’t need to go to the storage facility as the driver wasn’t unloading until tomorrow. I received a call from Pam, and she was finished at the Alexander’s and Tara had returned her to our apartment. I visited with Dave about the rest of the week and then left for home.

Wednesday morning, we left the apartment at 7:45 am for Zone Conference at the Blanding chapel in Orange Park. The session was for the Gainesville, Jax South, Jax West and Ocala Zones. We normally attended Zone Conferences for the northern zones but had commitments yesterday. We arrived in good time and missionaries were gathering at the back entrance and it was interesting seeing so many we didn’t know in the southern zones. However, we did meet many of our friends who had served in the Jax East Zone over the past year and that was nice. We also saw all the senior couples in the mission with the exception of the Hagedorn’s who were way up north in Georgia. At 8:45 am everyone assembled in the chapel and we paused for a few minutes of quiet time and then President & Sister Lee stood and welcomed everyone to Zone Conference. President introduced the new missionaries since the last conference and then we began with Elder Hiatt, assistant to the President, conducting. Following an opening hymn and prayer, Sister Redford (we knew her from the Arlington Ward) sang a beautiful solo number titled “Gethsemane” and then we heard a short message from President Haddock of the mission presidency. He spoke to the theme of “Rise to your Call.” We then heard from Sister Lee who discussed “Asking Inspired Questions.” President Lee followed on the same theme and expanded into the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion. Following a short break, Elder’s Hiatt and Boehme trained from Preach My Gospel on Keeping Commitments and did a fine job. Finally, President Lee summed up everything and we heard a final testimony by Sister Redford, who was attending her last Zone Conference, and then we sang “God Be With You till We Meet Again” to Sister Redford. Lunch followed in the cultural hall and we got a chance to visit with all of the senior missionaries and many of the single missionaries who we had worked with in the Jax East Zone previously. It was a wonderful conference with a great spirit. The afternoon was dedicated to subjects for the single missionaries, so we said our goodbyes and left for home with a short stop to do a little shopping before arriving at our apartment

Thursday morning, we opened the USO at 9:00 am. Bread and Pastries were on the pool table and after opening doors and turning on lights, we processed the items and by 9:30 am they were available for patrons. About that time a woman came from Papa Murphy’s Pizza and visited with Charlie Tramazzo for a few minutes and then went to the kitchen and proceeded to make pizzas for sampling by visitors. Pam was with her for most of the morning and she was an interesting lady and grew up in Sanford, Maine. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) had left a list of items she wanted done and when Dave Ostrum arrived about 10:00 am I attacked the list. Hung a new decorator clock in the computer room, went into the attic and brought a bin of wooden toys and several Princess Dolls for Megan. A business nearby brought a large supply of Hydroponic Lettuce and Dave and I stored the bags in the outside refrigerator. We planned to use it for Mondays’ No Dough Dinner. Pam and I left for the Naval Station at 1:00 pm and took some bread, pastries and 10# of potatoes to Samantha Lagae. It was nice to see her and Fiona and Clive. Marisol Perry, from the ward, was visiting and that’s been a nice friendship. We hosted the Arlington Elders for dinner this evening and at 5:00 pm Elders Smedley and Swan arrived. We had a nice visit and learned Elder Swan was from Layton, Utah. Dinner was excellent and following messages and a closing prayer they left for their night meetings and Pam and I cleaned up the kitchen and called it a night.

Friday morning, we opened the USO again as Dave Ostrum had a doctor’s appointment.

It was very quiet, and I spent the morning consolidating food, moving tables and some general cleaning. Pam worked in the kitchen working on a sample dinner menu for Monday. Dave arrived about 10:00 am and he visited with Pam and Julie Davis about the food. I hung 3 pictures in the back offices and when that was done, I cleaned up the offices and moved the lounge chairs with the help of another volunteer to the lounge area and set them up. Pam left the USO and drove to the Lagae home at 11:30 am to baby sit for Samantha while she and Jerald went to a school IEP meeting for Eleanor. Pam returned and we left at 2:30 pm and returned to the Naval Station and delivered more potatoes and romaine lettuce to Jennie Black and Tony Head. We also stopped at the home of Soporio McCall, a young woman Sisters Kurtz and Cutler were teaching in Palatka. They called us last week and asked if we could do some fellowshipping but she was not home. At our apartment Pam began getting ready for dinner with the Arlington Sisters. I called Soporio to see if she would answer her phone, and she did. She confirmed everything about her interest in the church and I called the Sisters and told them she was on her way to Palatka after her boy-friend got off work. Sister Dreiling and McComb arrived at 6:00 pm and we had a wonderful hour with them. Sister McComb was from Colorado Springs, but since her arrival in the mission field her family moved to Provo and might be in Erin and Weston’s stake. We had a nice visit and the food was good. After they left, we cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen and adjourned to our room for the night.

Saturday morning, we slept in and had a leisurely morning. Wes Alexander came by at 9:20 am and picked up potatoes and lettuce we brought home for them and it was nice to see him. I vacuumed the house and Pam began laundry and cleaned the bathrooms and dusted. We had everything done and were dressed for the day by noon. We went to the St. John’s Center to look at some shoes and then had lunch before returning to our apartment. Pam spent the afternoon working on a baby quilt blocks and I called all the unknown numbers for military members in our book, but mainly just left messages. We thought most of those names have transferred out of the area or left the military and moved.

Sunday morning, we arrived at the chapel at 9:45 am and sacrament meeting was excellent, with a full chapel. Tyler Gneck sat with us and the Lagaes and Blacks were there along with the Jarvis’ and Devaney Noblit. Wish we could get the Heads back to church. Today was Relief Society and Elder’s quorum meetings during the 2^nd hour and the meetings were excellent with good topics discussed. We had an interesting visitor, Timothy Ballard, the author of the Lincoln and Washington Hypothesis books. He was an ex-FBI agent and headed up Operation Underground Railroad a non-profit which assists governments around the world in the rescue of human trafficking and sex trafficking victims, with a special focus on children. Obviously, he was a member of the church and it was good to visit with him. We arrived home in the early afternoon and Pam warmed up leftovers and we enjoyed the meal and spent a quiet afternoon and evening. Johanna called from Denver and reported on her trip to Utah and the funeral of Richard Watson. Pam also visited with Erin, a fitting conclusion of our week.

Jax East Zone, we were not there for the picture, but these missionaries we work with

Sister Paulsen & Tidwell from the Jax Beach Ward

Our favorite, Sister Vai, now in Gainesville

Elder & Sister Wining from the Whitehouse Ward

Elder & Sister Schroeder from Gainesville

Just us!

Elder & Sister Alexander from Crescent City

Elder & Sister Waite from Gainesville

Elder & Sister Whitehead from the Mission Office

Elder Plumb, from the Roxborough Ward in the middle, doing great, now a District Leader

Senior couples with President & Sister Lee in the front

More senior couples

Jax East Zone Sisters

Elder Smedley & Swan home for dinner

Sister Dreiling & McComb home for dinner

Monday, February 18, 2019

Week 54 (11 - 17 February)

Monday morning we got up early and showered and dressed for the day. We stripped Kate’s bed and did some laundry and then packed our bags for our return flight home to Florida. Erin took Kate and Beth to school and we said a teary goodbye to them. Weston left for work about 9:30 am and Erin took Miles to a friend’s home who would take him to school later in the morning. Erin, Wells, Pam and I left for the airport at 10:30 am and made a stop in Draper for an early lunch at Café Rio (Yum). Following lunch, we continued to the airport and Erin dropped us off at Frontier Airlines. We said goodbye to her and Wells and checked in at the desk and obtained our boarding passes and proceeded through Security and on to the gate. Our flight to Denver boarded early and took off on time at 2:30 pm. It was a pleasant flight and only took an hour to reach DIA in Denver. We made our way to Island #3 and waited for the shuttle bus to the Hyatt House Hotel where we had reservations because of a 16-hour layover we selected. At the hotel we checked in to our room, watched a little TV until 5:30 pm when our Denver families arrived. It was wonderful to greet them all and everyone came, and hugs and kisses flowed. Travis suggested we go to a nearby Village Inn restaurant where we had dinner and visited for the next two hours. The restaurant was wonderful to us and pushed some tables together and seated all 18 in an area by ourselves. Orders were taken and then we noisily visited and waited for the food to arrive. We enjoyed the meal and especially visiting with our children and grandchildren, and all the families seemed to be doing fine. Reluctantly, some needed to leave as it was school the next day, so bills were paid, and goodbyes said, and the families individually departed. Travis returned Pam and I to the hotel and we said goodbye to them and went upstairs to our room for the night—what a great evening!

Tuesday morning, we were up at 3:45 am, showered, dressed and waiting in the foyer of the hotel to catch a shuttle bus to the airport for a 6:25 am flight. We made a cursory check at the Frontier desk to ensure our boarding passes were all we needed, and they were. We then proceeded to Security and passed through all the hoops. A lot of people were flying this morning somewhere as the train to Concourse “A” was packed. We located the gate on our boarding pass and sat down for a few minutes but wondered why no one was congregating there? Pam used her phone and checked the flight status and it was leaving from a different gate, so we moved to the new gate and passengers were just beginning to board the flight. I went on-board first as I had a checked bag on my boarding pass and located our seats and waited for Pam to arrive when an announcement was made over the intercom to deplane the aircraft due to an ATC alert from Chicago, our intermediate stop. A huge snow storm had backed up flights necessitating our flight delay our takeoff from Denver. I gathered up my two bags and returned to the gate and joined Pam waiting for a new departure time, about an hour and a half later. The Frontier agent assured us the flight would leave later in the morning and would continue to Jacksonville as planned with a prospective landing time of 3:12 pm. I sent a text to President Lee letting him know we were on our way home and when we hoped to be back in Jacksonville. He wished us a safe trip. We boarded the plane about an hour later and we were pushing back a note from the Captain that we would proceed to a de-icing area for a quick spray and then on to the runway. We did just that and it was interesting to watch the de-icing trucks move around the plane with their nozzles on articulated booms going over the plane. When done we continued to the runway, however, just short of the runway the Captain announced we had a sick passenger on-board and needed to return to the gate to deplane the individual. While it seemed a small item, it took about an hour to go through all the machinations to taxi back, pull up to the gate, extend the boom, deplane, etc. We were never sure who it was but para-medics came on-board and huddled over a person and soon they were gone. The Captain indicated our plans were to close the plane, push back and taxi to the runway while waiting for a new gate time in Chicago. Within a few minutes, however, another announcement was made indicating they were having trouble with the aircraft’s computer and technicians would have to come aboard and reset it. Again, a short delay turned into another hour as we waited, thankfully, on the plane. While waiting another passenger decided not to fly and left the plane, but she had a checked bag in the underbelly of the plane, which required people to open the bottom of the plane and locate the bag and remove it. Finally, we pushed back, restarted engines and taxied to the runway and made it into the air about 9:30 am—3 hours after our original takeoff time. The flight was uneventful and smooth, and we let down and landed at O’Hare International Airport 2 hours later. The airport was busy, but it was obvious from snow on the edges of the runways and taxiways that a storm had preceded us. The stop was just a passenger stop and about two thirds of the passengers deplaned and shortly thereafter, the same amount came aboard, and we had a full cabin to Jacksonville. Pam and I had a chance to stand up and stretch and use the rest room, but soon we were de-iced again (this time at the gate) and taxiing out to the runway and airborne. The leg to Jacksonville was the longest of the day, about two and a half hours, and just prior to landing, dropped below the clouds and we saw the familiar landscape of Southern Georgia and Northern Florida, Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, and the St. John’s River as we maneuvered to land to the northwest at JIA. We landed about 4:30 pm Florida time and it surprisingly felt good to be “home.” Upon exiting the plane, I called the firm where we had left our van and received instructions for the shuttle pickup at Pole #1 on the arrival level. Within ten to fifteen minutes, the shuttle arrived and took us and two other passengers back to the parking lot and our van was pulled up by the office waiting for us. I paid the remainder of the bill, got keys and we were off. The weather was quite nice in Jacksonville, about 75 degrees with partly cloudy skies and our skin soaked in the humidity after drying out in Utah. We arrived at our home about 20 minutes later and unloaded our bag and two backpacks and the apartment looked good and clean without any creepy crawlers. Before unpacking we went nearby for dinner and visited about our trip and the day’s activities and then returned home, unpacked our bags and put things away and settled in for the night. It had been a wonderful week with Erin, Weston and their children. We got to see Kari Lovell and the baby, celebrate Kate’s birthday, have dinner with Kali and later with Drew and Kyline, and attend a wonderful funeral for our beloved Aunt Win. On the way home we saw the rest of our family in Denver, and now we were back in the mission field and the work we were called to do!

Wednesday morning, we arrived at the USO at 10:00 am and spent an interesting morning. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was there along with Carmel and Jim (volunteers). So much had changed in just about every room and we wondered what we should be doing. Joyce took Pam and I on a tour of the rooms and what they were trying to accomplish. Tax preparation had commenced, and the Internet Room was being used for that service, which diminished the time sailors could use computers. Additionally, an Support Group from the USS Wichita was having a meeting in the north end of the main room and ladies were gathering. Lounge chairs remained in the children’s room and it was uncertain their fate. In the storage room by the children’s room were about 30 round tables, which completely dominated the room. In addition, all the open shelving in that area was filled with food items for “no dough” dinners. The tables were going to a storage facility but currently none of the cabinets was accessible. Pam spent the morning in the “no dough” storage room organizing while I spent my time in the rooms behind the office cleaning and organizing the items there. Both rooms were filled up with random items as they came in. Dave Ostrum arrived at noon and he needs a hernia operation badly but had to go through a VA facility in Gainesville and didn’t expect it to happen for several months. Several other volunteers arrived in the afternoon, so Pam and I left at 3:00 pm and before departing the beach area went on base and visited with Samantha Lagae and she and her children were happy to see us. Finally, we departed for Arlington Hills and had an early dinner and then to our apartment for the evening.

Thursday morning, we opened up the USO and processed the bread and pastries from Publix before patrons began arriving. Our first individual came at 9:30 am and we had a fairly steady morning. Pam went into the kitchen and cooked chicken to use in future “no dough” dinners. I cleaned the office and back rooms and manned the telephones. Julie Davis came to work with Charlie Tramazzo, and she was in and out and another volunteer came to work off community service hours. We were expecting someone to come and take the round tables, but they never showed up. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) arrived at noon and Pam and I briefed her on our morning and left at 1:30 pm and drove to the Naval Station and the Lagae home where Pam met with Stephanie Jarvis, who was babysitting Fiona and Clive for Samantha. Pam talked quilts with Stephanie, and I spent some time with Fiona trying to get her to learn the alphabet. She could sing the alphabet song (sort of) but had no association with the letters on flash cards. So, I began slowly with A-G and went over them again and again, but she became bored quickly and wouldn’t concentrate on what we were doing, so we stopped. Samantha asked for our help because she was getting nowhere with her. I also went outside and installed a new swing Samantha bought for their swing set, so now they had 2 swings and hopefully the girls wouldn’t fight so much about the single swing. Pam and I left at 3:30 pm and had a late lunch/early dinner and while at the restaurant, Pam talked with the Chinese proprietor whose sister had been in church several months ago and had a nice visit. Following our lunch, we drove to Arlington Hills and our apartment and settled in for the day. Sister Topham and her new companion, Sister King, came for some Plumbers Helper and it was nice to help them out.

Friday morning, we spent several hours at the USO. We arrived at 10:00 am and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was there with David Ostrum in the midst of sorting meat from Beam’s. The pool table was filled with bread and pastry items along with the meat, so Pam and I jumped in and sorted the meat into various coolers. Within an hour we had military wives and husbands coming for the goodies. I texted all of our families and during the morning we had Tony Head come, followed by Samantha Lagae and her kids, Shay Tuttle, Jennie Black with Rich and Olivia, and finally Wes and Tara Alexander with their kids. We had a wonderful opportunity to visit with each family and find out how they were doing. We learned that Tony Head was leaving for Wisconsin to be on a pre-commissioning crew for his new ship, Chris Tuttle was home for a while, and learned of the challenges Rich Black was having with his ship in Pascagoula. When the food was moving under its own weight, Pam went into the kitchen and cooked more chicken and I helped with two volunteers sorting and organizing things in the outside storage room, also processing new donations that just seemed to continue coming in. Apparently, no one shared the optimism that the government shutdown was completely over—hopefully it was, but the news announcements don’t provide much confidence. Joyce was leaving for Tampa today and in her normal fashion just couldn’t leave. Dave went home shortly after we arrived, and he returned at 1:00 pm and we literally had to push Joyce out the door. We visited with Dave about next week and food deliveries by Northeast Florida and the help we could provide. We had some lunch and returned to our apartment for the afternoon and rested. Pam received a call from Kari Lovell, and we were happy to hear that Wyatt was doing well at home and had received a good checkup this week. While visiting with Kari and later with Janet Cartwright, Pam began to need to use the bathroom about every 15 minutes and indicated she wasn’t feeling too well. She had pains in her lower abdomen, was chilling and just couldn’t stop using the bathroom. Pam asked me to search for symptoms of UTI and she met almost every criterion perfectly. Later in the evening, I suggested going to an Urgent Care facility, but when checking most of them were closed for the night. I eventually found the Baptist Emergency Center near the St. Johns Town Center. We drove to the hospital at 10:45 pm and they were wonderful to us. Within 15 minutes of arriving we were taken back to a treatment room and several nurses and a doctor visited with Pam and diagnosed her ailment as a Bladder Infection after processing her urine twice, so we were on the right track. We eventually left the facility at 12:30 am and Pam was given an anti-biotic in the hospital and a prescription for more to be picked up tomorrow. It had been a long night, but we were happy Pam would be on the mend soon.

Saturday morning, I was in the living room reading and Pam joined me at 9:00 am and had a fair night’s rest. The pain in her abdomen had lessened but she knew the anti-biotics would not fully kick in for 24 hours. Last night we received a call from the Jax Beach Sisters requesting a ride for them and one of their contacts to attend a baptism this afternoon at the Dunn Avenue Ward. We said yes and made arrangement to pick them up. At 10:00 am I drove to a local Wal-Mart market and got Pam’s prescription filled so she could continue taking the anti-biotics. I vacuumed the apartment and kept laundry going until about 1:30 pm when we dressed in church clothes and drove to Jacksonville Beach to pick up the Sisters and their contact. As I knocked on the Sister’s door, Sister Tidwell opened the door and was on the phone with their contact and he was cancelling his commitment to attend the baptism due to some other issue. Sister Paulsen and Tidwell were very apologetic, but it was okay, and we returned home. We made a stop for gas and later for lunch before arriving at our apartment. Pam needed some rest, so we weren’t disappointed at not going to Dunn Avenue. In the evening we went over Sunday’s lesson and enjoyed discussing the new chapters in John.

Sunday morning, we left for Jacksonville Beach at 9:30 am. We greeted the saints and the single missionaries upon arrival and met Elder Jensen, Elder Crandall’s companion. Pam also met Sister Tidwell, who was Sister Paulsen’s companion. Both companionship's had contacts with them, the Sisters a man and a woman and the Elders a man. Robert Rennie told us that Blake Harris received word he would not be eligible to reenlist in the Navy due to medical issues and would be out by July. A lot of the regular families were gone today, we supposed it was because of the long weekend, but we also had several visiting families, so it evened out. Only Devaney Noblit and Stephanie Jarvis attended today from our families, which was a surprise. Sacrament meeting was excellent, and we heard from Sister Novak and Brother Perkins, who both gave thoughtful talks. Brother Rennie taught the Sunday School class and did a nice job of facilitating the discussion from John 2-4. After Sunday School we visited for a few minutes and then left for Arlington Hills and our apartment. Pam fixed some dinner for us and we enjoyed the food. We discussed the lesson from Sunday School and then watched some programming on byutv. Pam was feeling much better today, and the anti-biotics seemed to be doing their job. Good to be back to work this week!

Home for Aunt Win's funeral, enjoyed Kate's Birthday Party

Family gathering for Aunt Win's Funeral in Murray

Loved Erin & Weston's new kitchen

View into their back yard

View out the front sliding doors

Miles & Wells building something with Lego's

Kate & Beth watching a movie

Kate & Wells

Beth

Our wonderful 16 hour layover in Denver going back to Florida

Family gathered at our Hotel in Denver

At dinner at nearby Village Inn

Grandchildren at Village Inn

On our way "home" to Florida on Frontier Airlines

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Week 53 (4 - 10 February)

Monday morning, we were up by 5:00 am and got ourselves ready to leave for Utah. Seemed the decision happened so quickly and now the time was here. We said our prayers and loaded the van with one bag and two backpacks and away we went. We parked the van at Park N’ Fly by the airport and continued to their airport on their shuttle bus. At the airport we got seat assignments at the Frontier desk and proceeded to security which took about 20 minutes. Finally, we continued to gate C-5 and waited for the boarding process which began shortly after 7:00 am. We had nice seats together and the plane, at Airbus 320, appeared to be new as it was very clean. Seating was tight, but you couldn’t recline the seats and so didn’t have to contend with the person in front of you laying in your lap. We had 3 phases to the flight; phase 1 a 2-hour leg to St. Louis, Missouri where we made a short stop to offload and take on passengers. While waiting a tall lanky cowboy came up and talked to us. He was a member from Ralston, Wyoming. He also was a horse dentist and it sounded like he was very popular as he traveled all over the country taking care of horses. He knew Brian Winn from Annabella and also participated in Rodeo events. Finally, the boarding finished, and we took off for another 2-hour leg to Denver, Colorado. We exited the plane and stayed in “A” concourse for 3 hours waiting for our final flight to Salt Lake. While waiting we had lunch at Panda Express and did a little walking and sitting and got our devices charged up again. The high Rockies appeared to have a lot of snow, but not much around Denver and the front range. Finally, we arrived in Salt Lake at 4:30 pm local time and Erin, Kate, Beth, Miles and Wells met us at the gate. It was wonderful to have those kids running to us and welcoming us to Utah. They were changing so much and growing up, especially Kate and Beth. We arrived at their home about 5:30 pm and it was wonderful to be with them again. Erin showed us their new kitchen, which had been completed during the year, and it was beautiful. Weston arrived from work an hour later and it was good to see him. What a nice family! Erin had dinner prepared and we all sat down and enjoyed the meal and hearing the kids tell about their activities. Following dinner, Erin had a FHE lesson prepared and gave a nice lesson on “Choices” and then we concluded the evening with some Ice Cream. The kids went to bed and we visited with Weston and Erin until 10:00 pm and then went downstairs to Kate’s room for the night. It was so good to be with them and we looked forward to spending the week doing what we could to support Jeff and Paul in preparing for the funeral.

Tuesday morning, I got up at 6:00 am. Erin took Kate to school for choir practice and was home again fixing breakfast for Beth. She took her to school at 8:30 am. Milers and Wells were up by then and climbed in bed with Pam for a few minutes. We took Miles to Kindergarten at noon and had lunch at Noodles & Company (Wells’ choice). When done we headed to Primary Children’s Hospital in a light to heavy snow storm. Pam called Kari Lovell and let her know we were coming and after arriving at the hospital, Kari came down to the lobby and met us and the reunion between her and Pam was sweet. We visited for a while in the lobby and then she took Pam and I upstairs to see her baby boy Wyatt. A nurse was in the room with Wyatt when we arrived, and he was bundled up in a blanket but trying to move about. They were closely monitoring his oxygen levels as they had removed the oxygen earlier in the morning. Kari unwrapped him so we could see the scar from surgery. He was such a pretty little boy with a full head of hair. It seemed sad that he had to face such a traumatic first few weeks of his life. Kari went through what had been accomplished with the operation and how he had fared the past few days. Wyatt had been a real trooper. She was hoping to take him home on Thursday, which would have been impossible to consider following surgery. We returned to the lobby with Kari and a couple of Sports Team mascots walked through the door with two pallets X-Box game systems donated to the hospital. Wells was fascinated by the mascots and they came up to him and gave him a “high five” and a hug. He felt pretty special. Finally, we said our goodbyes to Kari and hoped for the best for her and Wyatt and headed south to Provo. I borrowed Erin’s van and we did a little shopping and got Erin’s van washed and filled up with gas. Back at Erin’s, Weston was home, and we joined the family for dinner—very good. After cleaning up, the children went to bed and the adults visited and then called it a night.

Wednesday morning was Kate’s 11^th birthday and Pam and I both woke up about 6:30 am and visited a little about the day and then did some reading and checking of email and the news. I showered and got dressed for the day and then came upstairs and watched Kate and Beth head out for school Weston took them as it snowed during the night (about 2-3 inches) and his Outback handled the snow better than the van. Oh, for the days of our old purple van, it could go anywhere with its AWD. Pam and Erin left at 10:00 am for a hair cutting appointment for Pam and when done they came and picked up Miles for school and did some shopping and brought lunch for Wells and myself. Pam’s hair looked really nice and was quite short. Erin had parent-teacher conferences for Kate and Beth in the afternoon and returned about 3:30 pm. Pam, Erin and I went to Costco and Kohl’s for an hour and then returned. At 5:30 pm Weston was home, and we celebrated Kate’s birthday with presents, and she got some nice things. When finished with the presents we drove to the Golden Corral and had dinner. We invited Drew and Kyline and Kali to join us and Kali accepted the invitation and it was nice to see her again. She was living in Provo and working but taking a break from school. After dinner we returned to Erin and Weston’s home and the kids got ready for bed and the adults visited.

Thursday morning, I dropped off Kate and Beth at their school and got my hair cut at Fantastic Sam’s. The girl who cut my hair asked where I was from and I told her Monroe, Utah, but currently serving a mission in Jacksonville, Florida. I asked where she was from and she said Temecula, California. Surprise, surprise I said we had a missionary in the Jax Beach Ward from Temecula, and she responded, “Sister Paulsen?” She knew her, not well, but knew who she was as they were in the same Stake and had attended girls camp together. Small world! When finished I returned to Erin and Weston’s home and Weston was gone to work. Erin was busy cleaning her kitchen and took care of her boys. She was such a good mom and we were constantly amazed at her mothering skills. Pam did a couple of loads of laundry for Erin and at 11:30 am we left for lunch. At 1:00 pm we dropped Wells off at his Pre-School and then Erin dropped off Pam and I at the new University Place mall while she took Miles to school and participated in a parent-teacher conference for Miles. She finished about 3:00 pm and picked us up and then we picked up Wells and returned to their home. We had a wonderful evening.

Friday morning, Kate and Beth were off to school early and the rest of us had a quiet morning until 11:30 am when Erin, Pam, Wells and drove to the new Café Rio on University Parkway. It was wonderful as usual and when finished we continued on to Springville to visit Ann Marie and Terilyn who was staying with Ann for the next month while Ann continued to recover from her surgery. We had a very nice visit and Ann Marie was doing very well and seemed to move about with little pain. We returned to Erin’s home at 3:00 pm and Erin and Pam began working on cupcakes for Kates birthday party in the evening. She was having a “late night” with friends which Erin loved because it was simple to prepare. At 6:30 pm Kate’s friends arrived, and they played games and had a good time. When Weston arrived home, he brought pizza and drinks and they paused from their games and we all ate until stuffed. Erin and Weston put Beth, Miles and Wells to bed about 7:30 pm and Kate and her friends continued their activities until 10:00 pm. Pam and I disappeared into the basement.

Saturday morning, Pam, Erin and I attended Aunt Win’s funeral in Murray. Weston would have accompanied us, but attended a funeral of one his University professors, John Telford, in Salt Lake. A baby sitter watched over the kids. At the Murray chapel we joined the family as they assembled for the viewing. Aunt Win looked beautiful and natural. So happy that she was finished with mortality and back with Estel and others of her family and friends. We visited with numerous extended family members as they arrived for the viewing. At 10:45 am the bishop invited Ann Marie to offer a family prayer and the casket was closed. Pam and Ann Marie put on her cap but with the new church policy, chose to not veil Aunt Win. We followed the casket into the chapel and Bishop Rasmussen conducted a wonderful service. following an opening hymn and prayer we heard from Camille Campbell, Katie Campbell and Brittany Campbell. Pam spoke and gave a wonderful talk from her heart about her dear Aunt Win. She was followed by a melody of songs by Mark Dyches on the piano. What a glorious 5 minutes. Jeff then gave some wonderful and humorous remarks about his mother followed by concluding thoughts from the Bishop. It was a wonderful funeral and Aunt Win would have been pleased. Following the service, the family and friends assembled at the grave site, I was invited to dedicate the grave. It was very cold with 8-10 inches of snow on the ground, so we didn’t stay long, but returned to the chapel for a luncheon hosted by the ward Relief Society. After saying our goodbyes to Jeff and his family, we returned to Provo. Weston arrived home about 5:00 pm and at 6:00 pm we all went to the Brick Oven for dinner. We invited Drew and Kyline to join us and it was nice to see them as a married couple. Drew was in school at UVU and working for a construction firm in Lehi, and Kyline worked for her father in a call center near their home. After dinner, we visited for a while and then said our goodbyes with an invitation for them to visit us when we returned in August. We returned to Erin and Weston’s home and put the kids to bed and visited with Erin and Weston for an hour before calling it a night.

Sunday morning, we spent a leisurely morning and then got ready and left for church. Sacrament meeting commenced at 10:30 am and was a wonderful meeting. Erin and Weston live in a very wonderful ward. During the 2^nd hour all the kids went to their Primary classes, Erin went to Young Women’s, Weston taught Kate’s class in Primary and Pam and I went to our Relief Society and Priesthood classes. My class was excellent, and the teacher led a wonderful discussion on the converting power of the Book of Mormon. After the block we returned to Erin and Weston’s home and had lunch and then a wonderful discussion on everyone’s lessons. For the rest of the afternoon the kids played with each other and watched some television. The adults visited and relaxed and then Pam and I went downstairs and took a nap. Erin and Weston did the same until about 6:30 pm when Erin fixed some dinner for her kids. We joined the family upstairs at 6:30 pm to watch a family movie. When it was over the kids went to bed and Pam and I visited with Erin and Weston for a few minutes then went to bed ourselves.

Frontier Airlines flight to Salt Lake City

Denver Airport on our trip home for a family funeral

Pam waiting for our connecting flight to Salt Lake

Denver Airport

Not good at this "Selfie" business

Elder Saxton, Sisters Davis and Knudsen leaving for home

New missionaries arrived in Jacksonville on the 5th of February

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Week 52 (28 January - 3 February)

Monday morning, we left for the USO at 8:30 am to help with prepping for the No Dough dinner in the evening. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) had opened and we checked in with Joyce and she outlined things to do in the kitchen. We got the heating cupboards going for the chicken and brought in 5 roaster ovens for mashed potatoes, gravy and beans. Later in the morning other volunteers arrived and helped. I also made a run to the Credit Union to make a deposit for the USO and worked in the office taking calls and checking in patrons as Joyce was in and out most of the morning. We received more food donations and I checked them over and placed them in the storage room. The USO was planning one more food distribution for the Coast Guard on Wednesday as President Trump signed a funding bill and today the Coast Guard received their first pay check in a month. At noon I went to Winn-Dixie and picked up 200 pieces of chicken—part of the meal tonight. The USO bought 200 pieces and Winn-Dixie donated 600 pieces themselves which were delivered later in the afternoon. In the afternoon the main room was set up and by 4:00 pm volunteers for the dinner began arriving. Fletcher High School “Interact” Service Group hosted the dinner and students began arriving and had served before and were always a good group to help. We also had a half a dozen members of the Coast Guard Chiefs Association come so had plenty of volunteers. At 4:30 pm the rest of the chicken was delivered, and we had a visit from the Purple Heart association, so the place was busy right up to the start of dinner.

Tuesday morning, we opened the USO and had a quiet morning as we were the only ones there for an hour or so. Pam worked in the kitchen cleaning up after the No Dough dinner and I manned the office. By 11:00 am Joyce Schellhorn (director) had arrived and then Dave Ostrum and several Coast Guard workers came. They began bringing food and commodities into the main room from the storage room for tomorrow’s final food giveaway. I made another deposit for Joyce and changed the marquee sign to reflect an upcoming dinner and new Pathway dates. Pam and I left at 2:00 pm and drove to the base and dropped off some diapers for Shay Tuttle. We also stopped and visited with Samantha Lagae for an hour. We planned to have dinner with her tomorrow evening. We loved this family and wanted the best for them. Jerald was on board with their goals and we fully expect them to be in the Temple by the end of the year. We had a 5:30 pm appointment with the Elder’s so rather than go back to Arlington Hills, we drove around the beach front streets and enjoyed the lovely homes, trees and an occasional view of the beach and water. It’s a remarkable little section of Neptune and Atlantic Beaches that one seldom sees. We stopped at a Target store on Beach Blvd and looked around for a half an hour and then on to the Elder’s apartment where we conducted an apartment inspection and then took them to dinner at Bono’s. They enjoyed the meal and we had a nice visit with them and a beautiful message from Elder Beals. Elder Hansen was on exchanges with Elder Beals so we missed Elder Crandall, but enjoyed getting to know Elder Hansen better.

Thursday morning, we began our day going to Beam’s in Jacksonville Beach and picked up 10 boxes of meat and 2 boxes of carrots and delivered them to the USO. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) had opened and the Coast Guard was there in force along with the Feeding Northeast Florida. They set up in the back-parking lot and inside the north wing of the main room was loaded with food and commodities. In the south wing tables were moved and Bono’s arrived about 10:30 am and set up their tables and hosted lunch for all families. We hoped this would be the last food distribution for the Coast Guard, but who knew with Washington? Pam and I manned the main table by the foyer and welcomed families and individuals as they arrived and signed them in and gave tickets for the meat and produce out back. Once through the Feeding Northeast Florida setup they could return to the USO building and shop in the north wing and have some lunch in the south end. The smell of Bono’s food was very tantalizing. Smoothie King also was present with smoothies for dessert, so the patrons were covered. During the next two to three hours we processed over 120 families and gave away a ton of food and other household goods. Pam and I both had a plate of food and it was as good as it was last night with the missionaries only this time it was free. One of the Bono employees mentioned to me he was LDS from St. Augustine and we had a nice chat. By 2:30 pm the Coast Guard helpers began moving the food and commodities back to the storage room. All the excess Feeding Northeast Florida food was brought into the center and placed on the pool table and a Facebook notice sent inviting all branches to come E-6 and below. It wasn’t long before we had a good group of other wives and families coming for the items. At 4:00 pm Joyce asked if we would take some Bono food to the gate guards and we took two full boxes plus some drinks. We exited the base and drove to Domino’s Pizza and picked up pizzas that Samantha Lagae had ordered and returned to her house and had dinner with her family. We also gave her two bags of groceries and several boxes of diapers for Clive that were on the various tables today. We enjoyed being with her and her children, but Sam couldn’t wait for Jerald to come home—hopefully Saturday. After dinner and visiting, we left and dropped off more diapers to Shay Tuttle. Finally, we exited the base for the final time and drove back to Arlington Hills and our apartment.

Thursday morning, we were up early and welcomed Stephanie Jarvis and the three of us drove to Orlando to attend the Temple with the missionaries. The drive was uneventful, and we arrived just after 10:00 am—early but not the first. Elder & Sister Waite and Schroeder from Gainesville were there with a few missionaries. Within a few minutes the mission van and the President & Sister Lee arrived, and the group migrated to the front of the Temple for pictures. It was quite cold this morning in Orlando (in the 40’s) and the pictures didn’t take long. Back in the Temple we changed and gathered in the chapel. The missionaries were escorted into an ordinance room and after everyone was settled the session began. This was a first opportunity for Pam and me to participate in the new endowment ordinance which began early in January of this year. The video was changed to still photos, sort of like a slide show and the content filled with minor changes of great worth. It would take many sessions to feel comfortable with everything, but it was wonderful and certainly enhanced the worth of women in the church and in the Kingdom of God. Following the session, we had time to visit in the Celestial Room and then moved to a large sealing room where President Lee conducted a short devotional. Sister Lee bore her testimony, President Haddock (counselor in the mission presidency) was invited to share feelings about the Temple and then President Mills, a member of the Temple Presidency joined us and gave some wonderful counsel about the Temple and work done there. After President Mills left, President Lee made some concluding remarks and bore his testimony of Temple work and we departed the room and made our way downstairs to change and leave the Temple. We departed for Café Rio and joined the other missionaries in a wonderful meal and visiting. Sister Davis, Knudsen and Elder Saxton were the only missionaries going home, but there were 14 missionaries at the half-way point; 8 sisters and 6 elders. From Café Rio headed north out of Orlando and 2½ hours later arrived home in Arlington Hills safe and sound. We had a nice ride and enjoyed visiting with Stephanie—a wonderful day!

Friday morning, we arrived at the USO at 9:00 am and Dave Ostrum had opened, and Beam’s delivered a load of meat and produce. James McCullough had purchased 2 new 4-foot coolers, so we brought them into the main room along with other coolers and began sorting meat and positioning the produce and other products for families to take. Beam’s made a second delivery with 5 more boxes, so we had plenty of items to choose from—some very good and some not so nice! About that time 7 naval personnel from the 4^th Fleet came and helped out with the produce and meat and then Dave had them re-stock the rear pantry room and clean it up. They did a nice job. For the rest of the morning Pam and I worked in the office and out in the main room as Navy families came and picked up items. This was the first time Navy families had come for food in some time as the USO had been concentrating on the Coast Guard. A Facebook notice was sent out and Samantha Lagae and her kids came and picked up a box of items and later Shay Tuttle came and also got a box of food. We bagged up some things to take to the Alexanders. Joyce arrived around 11:30 am and she was going to Tampa today and spent most of the morning and early afternoon preparing for that trip. We left at 2:00 pm and returned to Arlington Hills and had some lunch and then delivered food to the Alexanders before returning to our apartment where Pam fixed a dinner for the Arlington Elders. I finished our January report and emailed it to Salt Lake, President Lee and President Heywood, so that was done for the month. Elder’s Smedley and Hendricks arrived at 5:00 pm and we sat down to a wonderful dinner and enjoyed visiting with them. Elder Smedley was from Inkom, Idaho and Elder Hendricks from Alpine, Utah. Elder Smedley was also the district leader for the Arlington District and both impressive missionaries. Following dinner, we had a short message and then they left. Pam and I cleaned up the kitchen and got things back to order and then settled in for the night. This morning Jeff Campbell called while at the USO and informed us that Aunt Win had passed away. He was helping her dress and she literally died in his arms. We were both sad and happy as we loved that woman. She was such a significant part of our lives. Pam had calls from Erin and Ann Marie and shared what she knew and I did a little searching online for flights to Salt Lake and we had a decision to make about whether to go home for the funeral or not.

Saturday morning, we did some studying and then discussed our plans for Aunt Win’s funeral. I called President Lee to obtain permission to return home for the funeral and after checking with his area seventy, permission was granted. We cleaned the house and did several loads of laundry. Pam talked with Jeff Campbell about how things were going and learned the funeral would be on Saturday, the 9^th of February. After lunch Andrew Cooper, a single member from the Naval Station, came by for help with his income tax. Pam was able to help him, and we had a nice visit. We finalized plans for our trip home and would leave Monday morning and return the following Tuesday. At 8:00 pm we joined a conference call with President and Sister Lee and all senior missionaries. We listened to descriptions of what other couples were doing in their service and spoke about ours. At 9:00 pm we joined another call where President Lee announced upcoming transfers. We had a number of changes in our Zone and would look forward to meeting new missionaries and sad to see good friends leave..

Sunday morning, we left for church at Jacksonville Beach at 9:30 am. Ward members were late arriving this morning, probably due to rain, but we started at 10:00 am and had a wonderful fast and testimony meeting. At the end we had a good showing of military families and were only missing the Head’s and Alexis Connelly. Nikki said they were still sick at home and Alexis was spending her weekends with a boyfriend prior to his leaving for New England. The following Sunday school class was excellent and then we visited with our families and said goodbye to Sister Davis and Elder Beals who would both be gone by the time we return. Andrew Cooper came to our apartment at 2:30 pm with some paperwork he was missing yesterday, and Pam helped him finish his tax form and get it submitted. After he left Pam warmed up some leftovers for dinner and we ate and spent a quiet afternoon and evening and packed for our trip.