Week 60 (25 - 31 March)

Monday morning, we arrived at the USO at 9:00 am to help with No Dough preparations. Dave Ostrum opened and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) arrived a half an hour later. Pam worked in the kitchen with other volunteers as they arrived, and I did some work in the No Dough storage room adding two shelving systems along the side walls and storing all the items that had been sitting on the floor. I helped Joyce and Dave remove a carpet out of Charlie Tramazzo’s office and brought out the “sneeze guards” for the salad and dessert tables. Joyce had me count the travel kits that were available and took 135 to the Naval Station golf course for gifts for an upcoming golf tournament. Pam and several ladies made the Shepherd’s Pie in the kitchen and it wasn’t hard, just took time as the new stove was not as handy as hoped. Later in the pm I helped wash dishes and pots and pans. By 4:00 pm dinner was ready and volunteers from a local MOAA group arrived and manned all the food stations. We left at 5:00 pm as there were plenty of volunteers. We drove to the Lagae’s home on the Naval Station and Pam picked up a white jumper top for Jerald who needed help with new patches for his uniform. He had his 1^st class insignia, career stripes and ship patch that needed updating. On the way home we stopped for a late dinner and then returned to our apartment for the night.

Tuesday morning, we drove to the Naval Station and met Samantha Lagae and Shay Tuttle out for a morning walk and gave Samantha Jerald’s jumper top with the new patches. It was nice to see them together. From the Naval Station we continued to the USO for the morning. Pam busied herself in the kitchen preparing chicken for next Monday’s No Dough dinner. She trimmed and cut 80 pounds of chicken into strips and placed them in roaster ovens to cook. I helped Dave Ostrum set up the “free” table with items that came in yesterday and also unloaded two carts of leftover food from last week’s food distribution. Dave and I also gathered all the Costa shirts and hats put them in bins by size and stacked them in the storage room. I helped Pam in the final hour with the meat and then we left for a dental appointment at 1:00 pm. We drove to Doctor Patch’s office in Mandarin where I had a cavity repaired. On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart for some shopping and had a late lunch before returning to our apartment.

Wednesday morning, we arrived at the USO at 10:00 am and Dave Ostrum opened the facility. Pam went into the kitchen and frosted a cake she made as a birthday present for Sue Lowthian (volunteer). I helped bring food out of the storage room for the give-away table and while we were doing that, Beam’s made a delivery of fresh vegetables (squash, cabbage & corn) plus 35 boxes of milk. We put the vegetables on the pool table and filled up a cooler with milk and put the remainder outside in one of the new refrigerators. When done I suggested moving an empty shelving system into the maintenance storeroom and Dave approved, so I spent the rest of the morning cleaning out that room and moving the shelf and it fit perfectly. When done the room was clean again for another day or two. Sue Lowthian came shortly after 1:00 pm and we all surprised her singing “Happy Birthday” and gave her a card and the cake. Surprise was an understatement! Joyce was there by then and Pam and I left at 1:00 pm and drove on base and had lunch. While there we took a couple of pictures for Miles with his “Flat Stanley” figure. We hoped to take a few more pictures around the Jacksonville area before mailing it back. Back at our apartment, Pam finished preparations for an Elder’s dinner for the Arlington Elders, Elder’s Smedley & Swann. When they arrived at 5:30 pm, we were surprised to see Elder’s Smedley and Yentes as both their companions had flown home this morning for medical and personal reasons. We had a nice dinner and learned that Elder Smedley & Yentes would be a companionship for the remainder of the transfer and would be working in the Arlington area.

            Thursday morning, we arrived at the USO at 9:00 am. Bread and pastries had been delivered last night and we got it arranged and patrons began arriving to look it over plus the other items on the free table. Pam and I did a lot of little things this morning to keep busy. Dave Ostrum came and was in and out and mid-morning Julie Davis came to work with Charlie Tramazzo. We had a college representative set up shop in the south wing and at 11:30 am Pathfinder had a meeting with a couple of military men who were getting out of the Navy. In the south storage room, Dave and I discussed the drink pallet and moved it to the west wall providing better access to the cabinets and the education bins. We left at 1:30 pm and returned to Arlington and had some lunch and then on to our apartment for the afternoon. Pam did some sewing on a quilt top and I took a nap and prepared a lesson for a Temple Preparation class at the Lagae’s. We drove to the Naval Station at 7:30 pm and met with the Perry’s and Lagae’s at 8:00 pm for our 3^rd meeting. Stephanie Jarvis came but ended up in the bedroom with Fiona who was still awake when we arrived. The kids were very good, however. We finished up the Plan of Salvation and had very good discussions on the afterlife and resurrection and many questions.

Friday morning, we were up early and on our way to the mission office by 7:15 am. There we met all the other senior couples in the mission to participate in an Ozone Conference to the Orlando Temple. We drove in a 15-passenger van and started with Elder & Sister Wining, Mann, Hagedorn, Whitehead and President & Sister Lee in the van and we picked up the Alexanders near Palatka.  The Schroeder and Waite’s met us at the Temple. We had a little traffic issue in Orlando, but eventually arrived at the Temple by 10:40 am and changed into white clothes and went downstairs to the Women’s training room where President Duke welcomed everyone and showed a video the Temple used to train new ordinance workers. Following the video, we heard a short testimony from Sister Duke and then from President & Sister Lee. We returned to the changing rooms, picked up our packets, received a “new name” and on to the chapel for the 12:00 pm endowment session. Pam and I were invited to be the witness couple. The session began shortly after noon and we enjoyed the proceedings and learning the nuances of the new dialogue. This was the 2^nd time we had been to a session with the new presentation. Following the session, we visited in the Celestial room for a few minutes then changed and went to a nearby restaurant, the “San Jose Original Mexican Restaurant” for lunch. It was a nice restaurant and they served good food and treated us very well. Following lunch, we loaded up again, said goodbye to the Schroeder’s and Waite’s and departed for Jacksonville. It was slow going out of Orlando and through the Lake Mary area, but eventually we got up to speed and made it back to the mission office by about 7:00 pm where we got our van and continued to our home. It had been a long, but wonderful day with good friends and the Temple.

Saturday morning, we were up early, and Samantha Lagae arrived at 8:30 am to help Pam with a permanent. They worked in the dining room area and were hard at it for the next 3 hours. I took the van to the car wash and cleaned inside and out. Back at the apartment I moved the laundry along. Ended up doing 5 loads of laundry and when the sheets were done made the bed and folded and put things away as they came out of the dryer. By 12:30 pm Pam had the rollers out and her hair rolled and combed out and it looked very nice. She was very happy. We had some lunch and then back to our apartment for the afternoon. We finished housework and spent a leisurely afternoon and evening, catching a few zzzz’s here and there.

Sunday morning, the last day of March and also Fast Sunday here in Jacksonville. We left for Jacksonville Beach at 9:30 am and arrived in time to visit with the missionaries and members before sacrament meeting commenced. Jenny and Oliva Black were there along with the Lagae’s, Shay Tuttle and Stephanie Jarvis. Tyler Gneck also was there along with a young military man from Kings Bay Sub Base. He was just visiting, and it was nice to meet him. We heard some wonderful testimonies, including one from Samantha Lagae and that was especially sweet. In the 2^nd hour they held a combined meeting for youth and adults and went over family history programs and it was interesting. After the meeting I talked with Bishop Currie about attending Thursday’s Temple Prep class and we also visited with our families before leaving. We drove back to our apartment and rested for a while and had some dinner about 3:30 pm and settled in for the evening. I worked on our monthly report and blog to post tomorrow morning. 

 New Sisters in Jacksonville Beach Ward--Sister Whelan & Tidwell

 President & Sister Lee training new missionaries

 Senior Couples in Orlando for a Temple visit--lunch

 Senior Couples in Orlando for a Temple visit--lunch

 

Senior Couples in front of the Orlando Temple 

 Elder Smedley & Yentes with us for dinner with "Flat Stanley" visiting from Provo, UT

"Flat Stanley" at the Orlando Temple in Florida

Week 59 (18 - 24 March)

Monday morning, we left for the USO early to help with a food delivery from Feeding Northeast Florida. Dave Ostrum opened, and we spent the first hour arranging the outside storage room for the delivery, which also included two new 5-foot freezers. The question was where to put them. Greg, a community service worker, and Dave and I set about to make room. FNE Florida made the delivery which also included 4 pallets of food—meat, canned goods, fresh corn, and dry goods. All the volunteers sorted and bagged the meat and got it stored in one of the old freezers. We also sorted the canned goods into 4 carts by type. The distribution would be on Wednesday (Tuesday was voting day and the USO was closed). We also moved carts and carts of commodities into the south end of the main room and filled three rows of tables with items to distribute Wednesday along with the items received today. We concluded this preparation by noon, and we were beat. When Joyce Schellhorn (Director) arrived shortly after noon, we visited about the week and future weeks and left at 2:00 pm. We drove to Costco and purchased water and returned to our apartment. President Lee called during the day to let us know the Kelly’s were going to arrive in early June, and he proposed we depart on the 7^th of July. Wow! We thought that might be the case, but now it looked like a final decision.

Tuesday morning, Pam and I drove to the Naval Station and spent over two hours with Nikki Head helping her clean her kitchen and reorganize things. We had a problem with her sink, and she called Maintenance and they responded quickly to solve the problem. At 11:00 am Tony called and needed a ride home, so Nikki picked him up and when he arrived, we left and returned to our apartment. We planned to spend many additional mornings helping Nikki. After lunch we did some cleaning and a load of laundry. In the evening we returned to the Naval Station and conducted the 2^nd class of the Temple Preparation Seminar at the Lagae’s home. The Perry’s, Lagae’s, Tyler Gneck and Stephanie Jarvis all attended and after the greetings were completed, we had an opening prayer and began the lesson on the Plan of Salvation. We spent a wonderful 90 minutes discussing this topic, reading and analyzing scriptures and applying them to our lives and to what was taught in the Temple. The Lagae children were excellent and remained quiet in their rooms and the evening worked out perfectly. We left at 9:30 pm and returned to our apartment for the night. New missionaries arrived today, 3 Elders and 4 Sisters and one of them was a Sister Calie Moore, the daughter of Cherish Johnson Moore. Cherish was John and Jean Johnson’s daughter from Monroe. We looked forward to meeting her.

Wednesday we arrived at the USO by 9:00 am and Dave Ostrum was there along with two other volunteers, Carmel & Jim. Carmel, Pam and I brought out more food items from the storage room until all that was left was items Joyce Schellhorn (Director) wanted for No Dough dinners and items for USO emergency resources. The additional items were placed on tables in the main room and when families began arriving, we had six lines of tables full. Pam worked with Carmel at the sign in desk and I worked outside giving out meat items, corn and diapers. Throughout the morning Pam indicated we had 50 of the 60 assigned families come for food and it was fun to interact with them. Shay Tuttle, one of our families came and her little baby was growing so fast. Mid-morning the Urban Atlantic Beach nursery arrived with a dozen boxes of lettuce and we quickly unloaded and began giving out heads of lettuce along with the other items. By noon things had slowed down considerably and several of the volunteers left. Pam, Sue Davis and I consolidated food in the main room to one side and after conversing with Joyce Schellhorn about the rest of the week, we left with a box of corn and a bag of lettuce and went to all of our families on base and to the Alexanders in Arlington and gave them produce. They were all appreciative of the food. Before returning to our apartment we had a late lunch and finally arrived home at 4:00 pm, tired, but had a good feeling about the day. Later in the evening Pam talked with each of our children and informed them of our departure plans and they were pleased we were going to be in Monroe for the 24^th of July celebration.

Thursday morning, we opened the USO at 9:00 am and bread and pastries were waiting for us. We got them arranged and patrons began arriving. We also had food, meat and corn they could take from yesterday’s food distribution. Sue Davis came later in the morning along with Dave Ostrum, so we had plenty of help. Pam got out the hamburger for next Monday’s No Dough dinner and then manned the office for most of the morning. I did some cleaning in the office and the outside storage room and gathered all the boxes and bags of items donated to the USO for use in care packages to the troops. Sue joined me and we went through box after box and bag after bag placing items in the appropriate bins. When we left shortly after noon, the outside storage room was organized and clean as was the new store room behind the children’s room, so we were satisfied. Pathfinder was conducting training today and by 11:30 am students and facilitators were on hand. Joyce Schellhorn arrived at noon and we went over tomorrow’s activity at NAS Jacksonville (golf tournament) and we planned to monitor a hole again. From the USO we drove on the Naval Station and picked up a prescription at the base clinic. While waiting Pam went upstairs and delivered a letter to Alexis Connelly and she also went for a walk. When done, we returned to our apartment. Alex texted us this afternoon letting us know they had just booked a flight to Jacksonville and would arrive on the 3^rd of June for a week—Hooray!

Friday morning, Pam and I left our apartment at 8:00 am for NAS Jacksonville to assist in the USO sponsored golf tournament—one of their major fund-raising events of the year. Upon arrival we checked in and learned where we would be stationed during the tournament. We were taken to the 9^th hole on the White course where we hosted a Trivia Hole for the tournament. The day was nice with clear skies, but it could have been a few degrees warmer. After an opening ceremony at the clubhouse, the teams dispersed (we think about 36 teams) in a shotgun start and for the next 2½ we watched teams move about the course and as each team came to our hole we asked them trivia questions and if they got the question right, they could proceed to the 100 yard marker and tee off instead of the normal tee box for the par 4 hole. Throughout the day we received about a $100 in donations. Drinks and food were delivered to us, so we had a pretty easy time of it. Throughout the morning P-3’s were in the landing pattern and it was fun to listen and watch this plane again. The tournament concluded about 2:30 pm and we walked back to the clubhouse and loaded up our things and left for home. At 5:30 pm we drove to the chapel at Jacksonville Beach and picked up Elder Jensen & Hafen and took them to dinner. Elder Jensen grew up in Kapa’a, Kauai and Elder Hafen was from Adrian, Oregon, just over the border from Nampa, Idaho. They were both outstanding Elder’s and we had a nice time with them and enjoyed their spirit.

Saturday morning, we slept in and then cleaned the apartment and did laundry until noon. By then we were dressed for the day and decided to take a drive north and see the countryside. We went north across the Dame’s Point Bridge on I-95 until Main Street (US17) and took that road through all the country towns of north Florida. We passed Yulee, Kingsland, Woodbine, and Waverly where the road turned to the east back towards I-95. Along our route we saw signs for Folkston, Waycross and passed by Hilliard and many of the small country towns of the Kingsland Zone. As US17 crossed under I-95 we stopped and had lunch and then returned to Arlington via I-95. We arrived at our apartment about 4:00 pm and spent a quiet afternoon and evening. We got an enjoyable call from Elder & Sister Kelly, our replacements. They wanted to update us on medical issues they were facing. Depending on an upcoming surgery for Sister Kelly, they may not make the June MTC class and we assured them that was not an issue with us. We visited about the work and our apartment and promised to send pictures of the apartment so they could get a feeling of what they need to bring. We looked forward to meeting the Kelly’s and they are excited to come to Jacksonville.

Sunday morning, we left for Jacksonville Beach at 9:30 am. We met the missionaries in the foyer, Elder Jensen & Hafen and also Sister Tidwell & Weyland. Sister Weyland was from Highland, Utah and she and Sister Tidwell werre Sister Training Leaders. Jenny & Olivia Black were with us today as was Jerald Lagae and his 3 children, also Devaney Noblit and her boys, the Jarvis’ and Tyler Gneck. Sacrament meeting was excellent with short messages from Elder Hafen & Sister Weyland, a talk by Brother Christianson and an excellent talk by Sister Thomas, Relief Society President. In the second hour, Brother Murray gave a lesson on our relationship with the Savior and did a nice job. Following the meetings, we visited with Jerald for a few minutes and got an update on Samantha, who was not feeling well. We talked with the Perry’s and Tyler about Temple Preparation this week and then returned to our apartment. Pam fixed dinner for us and we spent a quiet afternoon and evening. 

 Departing Missionaries; Sister Redford (middle) was in our zone when we arrived in Jax

 Arriving Missionaries; Elder Cole (top right) & Sister Oakes (2nd from left) are in our Zone. Sister Calie Moore is 2nd from right on the front row

 Our hole on the USO Golf Tournament at NAS Jacksonville

 Looking down the 9th hole from the tee boxes

 Beautiful course on this spring morning

 Pam checking on something

 Spanish Moss on the oak trees

Could be a gator in there somewhere. We saw a mother and babies in another pond

Week 58 (11 - 17 March)

Monday morning commenced in Orlando, where we caught a shuttle bus for Universal Studios at 10:40 am where we rented a wheel chair for Pam and began our adventure. We texted Erin and they were at Seuss Landing and after locating them, we took Miles and Wells with us and Erin, Weston and the girls went off for “higher” adventures. Erin gave us some lunch for the kids and we stayed in the Seuss Landing for the better part of an hour. The boys rode the “Cat In The Hat” ride and Pam went with them and they had a good time. Next, they rode the “Carousel” with Pam and I took them on the “High In the Sky, Seuss Trolley Train Ride.” From Seuss Landing we rode the “Hogwarts Express” back to “Diagon Alley.” Miles wanted to see something there and we wandered around the Alley and finally discovered he wanted to see the Dragon Roar and we arrived just in time for him to look up as the Dragon spit fire. Next, we walked around the lake and we all went on the “The Simpson’s Ride,” then “ET’s Adventure” and that was fun. The “Animal Actors on Location” was just starting so we went into the stadium and enjoyed the cats, dogs, birds, etc. Finally, I took the boys on the “Woody Woodpeckers Nuthouse Coaster” and they really enjoyed that. By this time, it was mid-afternoon and they were hot and tired, so found somewhere to relax for a while in the “Curios George Goes to Town” area which was also a water park and the boys had a ball going through the buildings and playing in water spraying all over the place—water cannons, big tubs of water dumping off roofs and everything imaginable. In a back building was a room with rubber ball cannons and we could hardly get Wells to leave that area when it was time. They were wet and we found a rest room and Pam wrung out their clothes and then dressed them again and we ran into Erin, Weston and the girls. They came looking for us and we followed them back to Diagon Alley where they bought several glasses of “Butter Beer” for the kids and us and we enjoyed the treat. We watched the Dragon belch fire again several times and Pam bought some Christmas ornaments for the kids. Pam and I planned to leave on the 6:55 pm shuttle and volunteered to take the boys with us back to our hotel. They wanted to go, so we made our way to the exit and caught a shuttle back to our hotel. We drove to a nearby Cici’s and had pizza for dinner and the boys really enjoyed it. Back at the hotel, the boys watched cartoons and Pam laid their clothes on the heater to dry them. Erin, Weston and the girls arrived at 10:00 pm and picked up the boys and we said our goodbyes to them as we were not returning to the park on Tuesday morning and it appeared, they were not either. They planned to swim in the hotel pool and leave for the airport at noon.

Tuesday morning, we slept in a little and then got ready for the day, checked out of the hotel and began the drive home. The traffic was uneventful, and we arrived at our apartment about noon. Everything was well in our apartment and spent the afternoon putting things away, doing some housecleaning and laundry. We learned Erin and Weston and children checked in at the airport in the early afternoon and left on time, arriving in Salt Lake that evening. So, we were pleased their trip was uneventful also. We greatly appreciated the sacrifice of time and finances they made to come and spend a few days with us. It was very special to be with our grandchildren. (the children were ok too!)

Wednesday morning, we reviewed several new videos the church published on the dedication of the Italy Rome Temple over the weekend. In particular were testimonies given by the members of the quorum of the twelve and a video that walked you through the Temple explaining the various parts and purposes of rooms. Elder Bednar and Rasband did a wonderful job highlighting the role of the Temple in our lives. We left for the USO at 9:30 am and the parking lot was full, and remembered it was a “Career Day” for the Pathfinder Program. We visited with Dave Ostrum and Carmel and Jim and returned some items to Joyce Schellhorn (Director) and bagged some ham from Monday’s No Dough dinner to take to some of our families. They didn’t need us, so we drove to the Naval Station and stopped at the Head’s, but Nikki was gone. Next to the Tuttle’s and gave Shay a bag of ham and talked about their recent trip to Arizona and learned that Chris had blessed their baby, so that was wonderful. Next, we drove to the Black’s and Olivia was outside walking their dog and she took some ham to her mother. Finally, we stopped at the Lagae’s and gave Sam a bag of meat and Pam visited with her for about 15 minutes. She was very excited about the upcoming Temple Preparation Seminar that we would hold with them, starting Thursday evening. After we filled up with gas we returned to our apartment via the Alexanders where we also gave Tara a bag of meat. She was not feeling well—cold! At 1:30 pm we drove to a dental appointment in the Mandarin area and for the next hour Doctor Patch worked me over. He filled 3 small cavities and wanted to check on another one at a later date. On the way back to our apartment, we stopped for lunch, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate. Pam and I looked over the Temple Preparation Seminar manual and decided what we would do tomorrow evening.

Thursday morning, we arrived at the USO at 9:00 am to open the facility. Bread and pastries had been delivered and we set them out for patrons. Seemed every time we return to the USO after a break there has been significant changes in where things were located, and that day was no exception. Voting tables had been delivered for next Tuesday’s local election. Yao Li and Julie Davis arrived to help Charlie Tramazzo and at 10:00 am Dave Ostrum arrived. We had a very slow morning with only a half dozen patrons come for bread and most of them retirees. Back in our apartment, I lay down as I had not been feeling well and promptly went to sleep for most of the afternoon. At 7:00 pm Pam and I changed and left for the Naval Station where we conducted the first session of a Temple Preparation Seminar for the Lagae’s and Perry’s. Tyler Gneck had a late trainer and couldn’t come, but it turned out very nicely and both the Perry’s and Lagae’s were excited about attending the Temple and receiving their endowments and being sealed as families. We introduced the lessons and showed two videos, one of Elder Bednar and Rasband inside the Rome Italy Temple and the other one on the Endowment. Both new videos and very nicely done. We made some assignments for next week and left about 9:15 pm.

Friday morning, we were out the door early for apartment inspections starting at 8:00 am.

We began here in the Avia St. John with Elder Smedley & Swan’s apartment, followed by Sister Dreiling & McCombs apartment also nearby. Next, we drove to Sister Topham & Kings apartment followed by Elder’s Hansen & Wojnar. The final inspection was at Elder’s Crandall & Jensen in Jacksonville Beach. We found a few discrepancies, but basically the missionaries were doing a good job keeping their places clean. If there was main common complaint it was water pressure. Before going to the USO we stopped at the Embassy Barber Shop, next to the Whataburger on Penman Road and I got a haircut. Finally, about 10:30 am we arrived at the USO and visited with Joyce Schellhorn (Director) going over next week’s schedule with her and items coming up in the next month or two. Dave Ostrum arrived at about 11:00 am and Joyce left for a trip to visit her family in Tampa shortly after noon. Pam and I worked in the office for the entire time we were there and left at 1:00 pm. “Spring Break” made for a pretty light week for the USO but next week it would ramp back up. Back at our apartment we documented the apartment inspections and rested before returning to Jacksonville Beach at 4:30 pm. We inspected Sister Paulsen & Tidwell’s apartment and then took them to dinner. We had a nice hour with them, enjoyed the meal and visiting with those two great sisters. After dropping them off at their apartment we returned to Arlington Hills and settled in for the night.

Saturday morning, we were up early again and out the door by 7:40 am to finish apartment inspections. We drove to the Dunn Avenue area and arrived at the apartment of Sister Kennedy and Baird at 8:00 am and enjoyed visiting them and seeing cleanliness of their apartment. Next the final inspection was at the apartment of Elders Shirtliff and Carter, the Zone Leaders. Their apartment was also clean just filled with a lot of “stuff” that needed to be discarded. From the Dunn Avenue area, we returned to our apartment and Pam did some dusting and continued laundry and I updated the inspections forms and emailed them to Elder Alexander. At noon we drove to Wal-Mart for some shopping and walking and then had some lunch. At our apartment, I spent the afternoon calling families and sent out text messages and emails to verify some names. In the evening we studied the weeks lesson in “Come Follow Me” and then joined the mission transfer call from President Lee at 9:00 pm. The Dunn Avenue District remained intact, but in the Fort Caroline District Sister Topham was transferred out and Sister King would be training a new missionary. Elders Hansen and Wojnar were both being transferred out and Elder Yentes moved in and would train a new missionary, and our beloved Sister Paulsen was transferred out and Sister Weyland would replace her at the Beach with Sister Tidwell. Finally, Elder Crandall was being transferred out and Elder Hafen would replace him with Elder Jensen. So, we lost some great missionaries and gained some good ones. President also combined the Ocala and Gainesville Zones into one Zone in a preliminary move to the July 1^st changes when the mission absorbs the Panama City, Tallahassee and Tifton, Georgia Stakes.

Sunday morning, we left for Jacksonville Beach at 9:30 am and attended church in the

Beach Ward. We were happy to see Chris & Shay Tuttle with their cute baby, and Jenny & Oliva Black. The Jarvis’ were also there along with Devaney Noblit and Tyler Gneck. Slim pickings today, however, as many of the ward faithful were out for Spring Break. Sacrament meeting was excellent, and Bob Rennie taught the Sunday school lesson and led a good discussion. Following the meetings, we visited for a few minutes before returning to our apartment. Pam fixed some dinner and we spent a quiet afternoon watching some byutv programming. I also updated photos and narrative for the weekly blog. At 6:45 pm we drove to the Fort Caroline chapel and attended a missionary fireside titled “Fishers of Men” and it was well done. All the Jacksonville East Zone missionaries participated and reviewed member-missionary correlation and how to apply missionary work in our everyday lives. President Lee attended as did the Whiteheads. 

Kate, Beth, Miles & Wells in Bounce House at Fiona Lagae's Birthday Party

Military families gathered for Fiona Lagae's Birthday Party

Mayport Naval Station Beach - Erin, Kate, Miles & Wells

Mayport Naval Station Beach - Weston, Kate, Beth, Miles & Wells

Universal Studios with Erin, Weston & family

Pam, Miles & Wells on Carousel

Pam, Miles & Wells on Fish Ride

Miles & Wells taking a break

Week 57 (4 - 10 March)

Monday morning, we left for the USO at 9:30 am. Dave Ostrum and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) were at the center getting ready for a board meeting at 11:00 am. Dave showed us changes he made to the inside storage room and it looked good. Dave left for a doctor’s appointment shortly thereafter and Pam and I cleaned the facility, consolidated the free table and moved the lounge chairs from the children’s room and reset the room so it could be used for a ships group tonight. Stephanie Jarvis arrived at 11:00 am and Pam spent almost 2 hours with her pinning a baby quilt she was making and visiting. She and Lance were getting excited for their baby. By 11:30 am the meeting had commenced in the Pathfinder room and they had drinks and food for a working lunch. I manned the office and periodically did some duplicating for Joyce. Strangely we didn’t have many patrons this morning—pretty quiet both in person and on the phone. The meeting finally broke up around 1:30 pm and Pam and I left at 2:00 pm. We had some lunch and then returned to Arlington area where we did some shopping before returning to our apartment. Avia St. John’s maintenance personnel commenced inspections of the apartments this week, but there was no evidence they had been inside.

Tuesday morning, we left for the USO by 9:00 am. It was very cool this morning, about 50 degrees and didn’t change much throughout the day. On the way to Mayport we passed emergency vehicles and noticed a tall power pole hanging in the air, held up by the power line with a pickup truck smashed into the base of the pole. We couldn’t imagine how the accident happened because it was on a straight stretch of road—strange! Feeding Northeast Florida had delivered 4 pallets of food and Pam and I jumped right in and began sorting meat into 5 coolers. While doing that two volunteers arrived and helped us, and we soon had the meat sorted and over 60 bags in the storage room freezer. Certainly, was a better selection than the last time FNEF delivered. Next, we turned to the other pallets of vegetables and dry goods and moved them inside the center onto tables at the north end of the building. By then we had another volunteer join us and the work went by quickly. Dave Ostrum and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) were both at the center and they orchestrated all the decisions of “where” and “how much” and by noon everything was done, and Dave had to make a decision on what to bring from the storage room to augment the food selections. We visited with Joyce about tomorrow and left at 1:30 pm. Pam had sorted out some meat for our families and we dropped off some at the Lagae’s home and later to the Alexander’s in Arlington. Back at our apartment, a maintenance team from Avia St. John’s came to our apartment and performed an inspection. We received a letter from the association earlier in the week, so knew it was going to happen. The inspector detailed the condition of the apartment, room by room. They indicated another team would be dropping by later in the week concerning pest control.

Wednesday morning, we left for the USO at 9:15 am. It was cold outside today, just barely above freezing when we left. Today was a food distribution day for Feeding Northeast Florida, and when we arrived Dave Ostrum and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) were there and everything looked ready to go. The tables in the north end of the main room were filled with food items from the pantry and all we needed was patrons. I handed out meat products outside and Pam worked at the sign in desk and also in the office and in her down time baked a pie for Dave. 50 family names had been nominated, but throughout the morning only about half of them came, so it was slow going. I spent most of my time organizing the diaper pile in the storage room. Beams also made a delivery during the morning of hams and some cakes and pies and we left them outside and gave them out to patrons as they left. We also distributed the remaining lettuce. Fortunately, we had a lot of volunteers today who helped the patrons inside and to their vehicles. At 1:30 pm Pam and I visited with Joyce about tomorrow and then we left and returned to Arlington. We spent the afternoon getting our apartment set up for Erin and Weston’s visit. They left Salt Lake on a “red eye” flight to Orlando and we would see them Thursday morning.

Thursday morning, I went to the USO to open at 9:00 am and take care of the bread and pastry donations from Publix and Pam stayed home and finished preparations for Erin and Weston’s arrival and was there when they arrived at our apartment about 9:30 am. They arrived in Orlando after a 3.5-hour direct flight from Salt Lake City and rented a Toyota Sienna and drove directly to our home. Dave Ostrum arrived at 10:00 am and Joyce called me a little later to check on my morning. It was very quiet, and I consolidated the food on the front tables and dispensed bread and pastries as patrons arrived, but only had about 3 come while I was there. I left at 10:30 am and returned to our apartment and when I walked through the door, was met by smiling kids at the front door—Miles Beth, Wells and Kate. They were so happy to be in Jacksonville and were busily assembling Lego kits we had obtained during the Christmas toy drive at the USO. I visited with each of them and heard their tale of travel from Utah. Miles had drawn a beautiful picture for me of their airplane ride. Erin was taking a shower and Weston was asleep in their bedroom, but it was good to greet Erin when she joined us. We talked about our day and at 12:30 pm headed out. Their Toyota had a jump seat in the middle row and could accommodate 8 persons, so we took their van and made the first decision of the visit—where to have lunch? We stopped at Subway and had sandwiches and then continued to Mayport with a stop at the USO to introduce the family to Joyce and she was very welcoming. Next to the ITT shop and Pam and Erin and Weston went in and bought tickets to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine and to Universal Studies in Orlando. Next, we drove to the Mayport Ferry and rode across the St. John’s river and that was an adventure for the kids. Erin reminded them that in the past 24 hours they had traveled by car, bus, train, airplane and now a ferry! How good was that. From the Ferry landing we drove to Fort George Island and to Kingsley Plantation and Weston enjoyed the drive through the trees on the small dirt road. It was beautiful and the lowering sun cast beautiful shadows and highlighted the white buildings. We wandered through the buildings, grounds, especially along the water and walking to the pier. Finally, at 4:30 pm we began the walk back to the van and made a photo stop at the front entrance to capture the semi-circle slave homes with their glistening Tabby construction. We took the Ribault road back to Hecksher Road and saw the beautiful homes and church. Our plan was to go back across the river on the Ferry and have dinner at Singleton’s, but as we approached the Ferry, the parking lot was full and a line of cars waiting to enter the lot as far as the eye could see, so we elected to go west on Hecksher Road and cross the river on the Dame’s Point Bridge. Well that was a good thought, but the lineup of cars was for a reason and it took us over 2 hours to reach the bridge. We never saw what caused the backup, but Google Maps indicated a road closure, accidents, etc. and we just crept along. Weston busied himself taking pictures, but it was dark when we crossed the bridge. We stopped at Arby’s for dinner and then returned to our apartment. The kids played for an hour and then one by one went to bed. The boys slept together on one of the mattresses, Beth on the other one and Kate on the couch. Weston and Erin took the guest bedroom and Pam and I adjourned to our room. It had been a wonderful day. 

Friday morning, we discussed our days activities and did a little shopping. Weston had a low tire—a cause for concern. Miles also had an infected big toe and Erin decided to take him to a nearby Urgent Care. Pam stayed with the kids and Weston, Erin, Miles and I went to the facility and while Erin and Miles saw a doctor, Weston and I went to Dailey’s and filled up the tire with air. Weston decided it would be prudent to have the leak fixed because we discovered a screw in the tire. We drove to Discount Tire in Regency Square and got the tire fixed. They were very good to us, but it took over an hour to get it done. Meanwhile, Erin and Miles were finished with the appointment and got some anti-biotics prescribed, but no vehicle to get her home. She ended up walking back to the apartment; about 2-3 blocks away. Finally, we returned to our apartment and Pam fed the kids lunch. Miles was feeling okay, so we got things sorted out and left for St. Augustine, late, but still time to see some things. We headed south on I-295 and the traffic was backed up and we just crawled along until we passed Ikea and then picked up speed while the northbound traffic was a parking lot. We turned southeast on Phillips Highway and continued to St. Augustine and across the bridge to the island and the Alligator Farm. For the next two hours we wandered around the park and the kids and adults thoroughly enjoyed checking out the alligators, crocodiles, birds, some primates and snakes. It was such a nice park and we all had a good time taking lots of pictures. We watched one show where keepers got down in a pen with huge alligators and talked about them. One guy, apparently the supervisor, played around with one gator and got him to rise up and open his mouth but I don’t think I could have done that. Finally, we left the park and headed back to St. Augustine and located the trolley office but were too late to ride. Didn’t realize the last trolley left the station at 4:30 pm and it was after 5:00 pm. What was a disappointment, but we couldn’t help it, so we continued down the road and stopped at Schooner’s restaurant and had a sea-food dinner to celebrate Weston’s birthday. The place was busy, but we got seated after 30 minutes. Service was good but we were seated in a semi-outdoor patio with live music and the artist was so loud. However, we had a nice meal and then left for home, arriving 40 minutes later about 9:00 pm. The kids played for a while and we visited and had some ice-cream and then called it a night.

Saturday morning, we spent a quiet morning and I took food to the Lagae’s for Fiona’s birthday party at noon. Back at the apartment, we were all ready to leave by noon and drove to the Naval Station. Samantha and Jerald were getting things set up for the party and had rented a Bounce House from MWR and had it set up and the kids had a great time bouncing. Christian and Marisol Perry arrived with Declan and her mother Donna, Stephanie and Lance Jarvis came, Jenny and Oliva Black, and Matt and Laura, the Lagae’s neighbors were there with their boy. So, with our 8 the Lagae’s had a big crowd. The kids played in the Bounce House and on the swing set and the adults visited, and everyone had a good time. Jerald cooked hamburgers and hotdogs and Samantha had purchased some Costco pizza, so we had plenty to eat and did so liberally. At about 2:00 pm Samantha brought out a cupcake cake and it was very cute. They lit 4 candles and Fiona blew them out as we sang Happy Birthday to her. The cupcakes were yummy! At 2:30 pm our group said our goodbyes and left for the beach there on the Naval Station and for the next two hours the kids played in the sand, in the surf, found shells and enjoyed themselves. The water was quite cold, but they still ventured in a little and when we were ready to leave, they were pretty wet and cold. Back at the apartment, the kids wanted to go swimming, so they transitioned into their suits and I went with them to the pool and we stayed there for about an hour. Only Kate got in the water as it was also quite cold, but she braved it and jumped in and stayed in for some time. Beth did it once, but that was all, and Miles and Wells just walked around the shallow edge and got their legs wet. Weston & Erin came and watched their kids and enjoyed the sun and warmth of the air. Back at the apartment the rest of the afternoon was spent taking showers, doing laundry and getting ready to leave tomorrow for Orlando. We went next door to KFC for dinner and the kids had Mac n Cheese and loved it. At the apartment I turned the clocks ahead one hour for daylight savings time tomorrow and the kids got themselves ready for bed. When Pam, Erin and Weston returned home, Erin began some laundry and by about 9:30 pm the kids were put to bed, and Pam and I adjourned to our room for the night.

Sunday morning, we were ready to leave for Jacksonville Beach and church by 9:30 am. We met the missionaries and the Rennies as we entered the building, also Tyler Gneck was there and when I introduced him to Weston, we learned that his home ward was the home ward of Shirrine Olsen, who was Erin’s best friend from Withlin International where she worked. By 10:00 am the meeting began and the Lagae’s, Devaney Noblit, Jarvis’ and Tyler were with us and it was nice to see them all. Following the sacrament, we heard from Elder Jensen who told a little about himself and bore a strong testimony of the Savior. He was an impressive missionary. We then heard from the Lundell’s. Brother Lundell was a member of the High Council and they both gave wonderful talks on variations of ministering. In the 2^nd hour the Elder’s migrated to the middle overflow room and Pam and Erin went to the relief Society room and both had wonderful lessons on priorities and establishing patterns of behavior that would lead to life-long conditions of righteousness. Ryan Dill and Sister Thomas gave the lessons and did fine jobs. Following the block, I asked Christian Perry to gather his family in one of the nearby classrooms and with the help of the full-time missionaries gave both Marisol and Christian blessings regarding the having children. I felt inadequate to make the promises I did, but also felt the Lord wanted this family to grow in size in the gospel. Brother Rennie also gave me patron booklets for the Temple Preparation class, and I visited with Samantha and asked her to contact the Perry’s and Tyler and set up a date for this week for us to begin. So, it was a good day at church for us. Erin and Weston were welcomed as were their children and they all did well in the meetings. As we drove out Pam noticed Sister Dill riding her bike out of the parking lot and mentioned that to Erin and she said “now I know who she is, she is “No Big Dill” Katie, the sister of a friend of Erin’s from their ward. She had seen Katie’s website and recognized her picture. What a small world we live in. When we arrived back at the apartment, I thought we would pack up and leave, but it took several hours to get things put together, laundry done, beds put together, etc. and etc. We finally were ready about 3:00 pm and loaded up both vans and left for Orlando. Pam and I led out and almost immediately as we entered I-295 there was a slowdown, but it ended up being an accident in the inboard lane about 2 miles down the road. Once past that area we had smooth sailing all the way to Orlando. We listened to a book on tape and that passed the time fairly quickly. We decided to check in at our hotels first and wait until 6:00 pm when parking was free at the park. We quickly found our hotel and got settled. At 6:00 pm we met Erin and Weston and they followed us into the parking area of Universal Studios, and we walked to the front entrance. I was amazed at the number of people at the Riverwalk area. Pam reminded me that this was the first day of “Spring Break.” We proceeded to Guest Services and after a short wait got our tickets. We accompanied Erin and Weston and their children through the turnstiles and then they went inside, and we exited the park and stopped at a nearby Wendy’s for dinner and then to our room for the night. We settled in and watched a little television and called it a night

 Bread donations at USO

 Mayport Ferry

 Mayport Ferry with Erin, Weston & Family

 Mayport Ferry Birds

Colton children at Kingsley Plantation

 Pam & Kate at Kingsley Plantation

 Azalea's at Kingsley Plantation

 Alligator Farm with Colton Family

 Miles & Wells at Alligator Farm

Kate, Beth, Miles & Wells at Alligator Farm

Week 56 (25 February - 3 March)

Monday morning, we were at the USO by 9:00 am. Pam immediately went to the kitchen and began preparations for the No Dough dinner that evening. Throughout the morning we had many volunteers arrive to help in the kitchen and with salad preparations. Pam was in charge by default and don’t think she enjoyed that role, but they had a good morning and good smells came out of the kitchen. I helped with the physical set up of the main room, the dessert, salad, drinks and utensil stations. After the physical set up was completed, I concentrated on getting “care package” boxes ready to mail to the middle east. I filled a special order to Afghanistan for 3 individuals and then a large order for another site in the Middle East. I filled and taped up the boxes and completed address and customs stickers for the two orders. By noon they were ready to mail. Dave called the post office on the Naval Station and they could take us tomorrow at 10:00 am. The afternoon was spent with more dinner preparations. We brought out the desserts from the freezers, checked the bathrooms for paper products, took out endless bags of garbage and recyclables and waited for volunteers to arrive from the Baptist church in Jacksonville beach. They came in great numbers, over 15 and by 4:30 pm we were awash in volunteers. They checked in and were stationed around the center ready to commence dinner. Dave Ostrum said we were not needed and to go home, so we did. On the way we stopped and had a late lunch salad and then returned to our apartment, tired, but pleased with the day’s efforts.

Tuesday morning, we arrived at the USO at 10:00 am to mail “care boxes” to servicemen in the Middle East. We loaded the boxes (39) into our van and headed to the post office on the Naval Station where we met Brenda, the post mistress, and for the next two hours got all the boxes checked in and taken care of. It cost over $700.00 for the transaction and that was a shock to me. All the items we shipped were donated (toiletries, hygiene items, snacks, etc.) and we hoped the servicemen enjoyed getting them. Joyce collected donations during the year, and the center made a shipment about every six months—a little touch of home. Back at the USO Dave Ostrum was holding down the fort and Julie Davis was working with Charlie Tramazzo. I gave Dave the receipt, credit card and individual custom slips and we visited for a half an hour before Pam and I left at 12:30 pm. We took 3 pans of last night’s dinner and dropped two off at the Lagae’s and the Head’s and brought a third one home and Wes Alexander picked it up on his way home. Pam and I stopped for lunch and brought salads home and ate while waiting for Wes. Later we drove to JoAnn’s and Hobby Lobby looking for quilt backing material and settled on something at Hobby Lobby. Pam spent the rest of the afternoon working on the baby quilt.  

Wednesday morning, we had a leisurely morning and finally left for the USO at 10:00 am to see if Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was in and discuss the upcoming two weeks. Dave Ostrum was there with Jim and Carmel (volunteers), but no Joyce. We visited for a few minutes and I helped Jim consolidated the candy that had been donated by Beams on Monday, Other than that, however, they weren’t doing anything, so we left and drove to the Medical Clinic on the Naval Station and checked to see if they had the new Shingles Shot Vaccine; they didn’t. While there we went upstairs and surprised Alexis Connelly. She came out of her office and visited with us for a few minutes and seemed to be okay, but she and Charles (boyfriend) were unofficially engaged and she wanted to spend every minute with him as he is being transferred in April to Washington state. We left the base and took the ferry across the St. John’s River and drove up A1A to Amelia Island and enjoyed the beauty of the water, beaches, trees, etc. We took a slightly different route and went up the center of the island past the airport and through the downtown section of Fernandina Beach and had lunch. We returned on the beach road back to the St. John’s River and across the Dames Point Bridge to Arlington Hills and our apartment. It was a nice drive, something we haven’t had time to do for a while. Pam worked on the baby quilt while I updated some files and called some families.

Thursday morning, we opened the USO and there was bread and pastries waiting for us. We got them tabulated and out on the pool table and by 9:30 am patrons began arriving. Dave Ostrum came about 10:30 am and we discussed a food delivery later in the morning and another delivery on Friday. He left for an MRI at a downtown hospital about 11:30 am. Julie Davis and Sue Lowthian (volunteers) arrived mid-morning and they and Pam produced a couple of sample dishes for the next No Dough dinner and let Charlie, and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) taste them when she arrived at 12:30 pm. We received 9 bags of Hydroponic Lettuce produced by the Atlantic Beach Urban Farms and the produce was wonderful. We put out several bags for today, and the rest placed in the storage room refrigerators. Joyce, Pam and I went over our schedule for the next month, especially concerned about the period when Erin and Weston would be visiting. At 1:00 pm we left and drove to our Dentists Office near the Mandarin chapel and had my teeth cleaned. On our way home we had lunch in the St. John Center and then continued to our apartment. Pam spent the next hour working on a baby quilt. I tried to call a bishop in North Carolina about a referral we received via email from a military relations couple in California but didn’t make contact.

Friday morning, we arrived at the USO at 9:00 am to help with a food delivery from Beams. The truck was there, but Dave Ostrum wasn’t, so we opened the facility and took delivery of the food. It was mostly meat—chicken, beef and pork and one box of squash. Dave arrived and we got the coolers out and Pam and I sorted the meat. Sue Lowthian arrived, and she and Pam went into the storage room and filled up 3 carts with food to put out on the tables and Dave took pictures and posted to Facebook and within 30 minutes we began getting patrons coming for the food and meat. Pam went into the kitchen and did some baking for Joyce Schellhorn (Director) and Sue and I went into the storage room and filled an order of book bag goodies for a Police Group the USO sponsors periodically. We left at 1:30 pm and drove to the mission office in the Deerwood Center and picked up two twin air mattresses from Elder Whitehead. We had a nice visit with him and Sister Whitehead and discussed the end of our mission with them. They leave on the 1^st of July and President & Sister Lee leave about the same time, whenever the new President arrives. We also got information about the next Temple trip and an Ozone Conference to the Temple, so looked forward to that. On the way home along Southside Blvd it began to rain as we passed Butler Blvd and came down in torrents with wind and thunder and lightning. Wondered if we were going to see a tornado? We stopped for lunch and then continued to our apartment. Pam spent the next couple of hours sewing and I called the bishop in North Carolina about the young transferring marine and was able to visit with the him. He had received the email and was attempting to contact him.

Saturday morning as I checked emails, we received a post from Military Relations headquarters informing us that missionaries could not babysit due to legal issues. We were amazed and bewildered about this, but Pam and I discussed what we are going to do because we assisted Samantha Lagae and Tara Alexander quite often when they had school or medical appointments. Pam spend the morning quilting and I vacuumed the house, spending time in the kitchen, pulling out the stove and frig and cleaning underneath and behind, so the kitchen was quite clean. Also, while vacuuming I kept the laundry going. At noon Pam and I left our apartment and had some lunch and put gas in the van and then drove to the Naval Station and spent 45 minutes with Samantha Lagae, discussing the email we received that morning. From Mayport we drove to a Wal-Mart and did some shopping and then returned to our apartment. Pam bound the quilt and I finished up the rest of the laundry.

Sunday morning, we left for church at 9:30 am and enjoyed a wonderful fast and testimony meeting and great Sunday school class on the Beatitudes. The Lagae, Jarvis and Black families were with us today as was Tyler Gneck. We talked with Brother Simon’s (bishopric counselor over Sunday School) after the block and got permission to teach a Temple Preparation class to the Lagae’s, Perry’s and Tyler Gneck on the base, so we were excited about that. We followed the Jarvis’ to their home and Stephanie lent us quilts and sheets for our upcoming visit of Erin and Weston and their family. The air mattresses we borrowed from the mission office seem to be working well, so that was a relief. At 2:30 pm we drove to the Alexander’s home and had a nice visit with them and explained the new policy about babysitting. They were understanding and would find someone else to help them out when its needed. They were the most resourceful of our families and had many friends in the Arlington ward. Finally, we made it back to our apartment and Pam fixed a pizza and it tasted very good. We watched some ksl.tv and kbyu.tv programming and spent a quiet evening. It’s been a good week. 

Archive photo of Navsta Mayport with 2 Carriers in port, USS Constellation and Saratoga. The "Connie" was my carrier, both decommissioned  

       

Weekend weather map of area showing first tornadoes of the season in Southern Georgia

Ferry across the St. John's River at Mayport

Alexanders with Sister Dreiling & McCombs at "Break the Fast" on Sunday in Fort Caroline Ward