Week 72 (17 - 23 June)

            Monday morning, we left for the USO at 10:30 am and Dave Ostrum had the facility open. He went over a few items that needed doing and Pam and I were busy cleaning and organizing. Joyce Schellhorn arrive shortly after 11:00 am and Dave left so we shifted gears and got busy doing some of Joyce’s projects. Primarily we set up for a squadron deployment briefing in the evening and set out some giveaways for the event. We left for the day at 2:00 pm and drove to the Lagae home on base and talked with Samantha about her appointment for an interview with President Heywood. We offered to help with her kids when she had her interview and later in the day found out it would be Tuesday evening at the Fort Caroline chapel. We returned to the Arlington Hills area and had some lunch and finally returned to our home and settled in for the afternoon and evening. We watched the new “Come Follow Me” video for the week and studied the final books of the Gospels.

Tuesday morning, we left for the USO at 9:15 am and Dave Ostrum had opened but only stay for about a half an hour. We manned the office and stayed busy doing a lot of cleaning and organizing tasks. Eventually Joyce Schellhorn (Director), Julie Davis and Megan Degance arrived so there were discussions about Monday’s No Dough dinner. Pam and I counted meat available for the dinner and also the number of lupia rolls in the freezer. Pam and I left shortly after noon and had some lunch and took a long way home via Ponte Vedra Beach area and went down Roscoe Road which bordered the Intercoastal canal. We had been on the canal with Jon Bryson and family a year ago but this time we saw the homes from the front yard side, and they were pretty spectacular. There were a couple of access points and we drove right to the canal bank and got a picture or two, but basically there was one multi-million-dollar property after another. Eventually we ended up back at our apartment and spent a quiet afternoon. Pam was busy cutting out dresses for Eleanor and Fiona Lagae to wear at the Temple. At 7:00 pm we drove to the Fort Caroline Chapel where Samantha Lagae had an appointment to meet with President Heywood. As we drove up, we were surprised that Jerald was with Samantha. His ship had returned unexpectedly today, so he came hoping to also visit with President Heywood. After the president’s arrival, he took Samantha and Jerald into the Fort Caroline Ward’s bishops office and they visited for over an hour and then individually interviewed Samantha for a recommend and Jerald to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. We were thrilled for both of them. We watched the children during that time and kept them busy inside and outside, mainly with walks. Samantha planned to attend the Temple when Jerald’s mother comes at the end of the month and for Jerald to be ordained an Elder on the 7th of July and to attend the Temple later in the month when his ship was in port. He asked me to ordain him and that was pretty special. What wonderful answers to spoken and unspoken prayers all day long. President Heywood was great with them and taught them well.

Wednesday was a special day and we left early for the Jacksonville West Stake Center in Orange Park to attend a Mission Conference. It was the second time in our 17 months that the entire mission gathered together and was pretty special. President & Sister Lee would complete their mission on the 27th of June, so it was a conference and a farewell for the Lees with all their missionaries. We spent a half an hour visiting with missionaries and it was wonderful to see their bright, shiny faces and feel their enthusiastic spirits. All the senior couples were present, and we met a new couple, the Barber’s, who were assigned to the Whitehouse Ward and were MLS missionaries. The Hagedorn’s came from Hilliard, The Young’s from Dunn Avenue, Alexanders from Crescent City, Whitakers from Gainesville, Mann’s who are taking over auto duties when the Whiteheads leave at the end of the month, and the office missionaries, Whiteheads and Elder Grieve. Oh yes, we were there also. About 9:45 am the chapel was filled with missionaries, and Sister Lee directed seating to take a mission picture. When done, President & Sister Lee welcomed everyone and introduced new missionaries who had recently arrived, including the Baber’s and then had the Senior Missionaries stand and introduce themselves. After an opening hymn and prayer, we first heard from President Haddock, counselor in the mission presidency, and he discussed working with members and ward leadership. President Lee spent quite a bit of time on the subject of “Remember, Remember.” He stressed many themes of previous conferences and emphasized their importance. Sister Lee followed, teaching about the importance of Obedience to the effective missionary and followed President Lees pattern of teaching. President Lee spoke again and discussed the subject “Treasure Up” and the importance of raising the vision of “who you are” and “seeing the end from the beginning.” Both President & Sister Lee summarized the great work they had done and the themes and tools they had used the past 3 years. After a closing prayer and blessing on the food we adjourned to the cultural hall and had a wonderful lunch and an hour to visit and take pictures. We finally met Sister Calli Moore, the daughter of Cherish Johnson from Monroe (Daughter of John and Jean Johnson) and we enjoyed getting to know her. She was serving in Gainesville. Following lunch, we returned to the chapel for a Devotional and Farewell for the Lee’s. We heard from President and Sister Haddock, Elder & Sister Whitehead, Elder & Sister Mann, several beautiful musical numbers by single missionaries, watched two videos, the first from all of the single missionaries who expressed individually their love for the Lee’s, and a second one a collage of pictures from numerous mission conferences and events and both were well done and evoked a lot of tears and memories. What a wonderful event. Before the closing thoughts, President and Sister Lee and the Haddocks stood below the rostrum and invited every missionary to come forward for a final hug and expression of love. The end came with final testimonies from the Lee’s which were powerful. Before leaving we visited for some time with senior couples, the Lee’s and with many missionaries, some we would probably not see again here in Jacksonville. A lot of pictures were taken and then we migrated out the back door of the building and left for our apartment. It had been a very “blessed” day as they say here in the south.

Thursday morning, we left for the USO at 8:30 am and opened the facility. Bread and pastries had been delivered Wednesday evening and we got the doors open and lights on and Pam took cakes and cookies for No Dough dinners out to the freezer and I manned the office. Dave Ostrum arrived about 10:00 am and several other volunteers later in the morning to commence cutting meat for Monday’s dinner. Julie Davis arrived and supervised the effort along with Megan DeGance. As always there was constant chatter about whether we had enough meat or needed to buy more. Joyce called and asked if I would go to the Pan Am storage and bring book bags from the storage unit which I did. Later Charlie Tramazzo asked if I would find some picture frames for some pictures he wanted to hang, and I ended up at a Wal-Mart and found what he wanted. Back at the USO Pam and I left at 1:00 pm as there was plenty of help and drove to the Navy Exchange and Pam purchased a baby gift to go along with a baby quilt for Tara Alexander’s baby. From the exchange we returned to Arlington Hills area and had some lunch and then returned to our apartment for the rest of the day. Pam did some sewing and I made some calls.

Friday morning, we were up early and out the door by 6:30 am enroute to the Fort Caroline Sisters apartment to pick up Sister Morse and Sister Weyland who would ride with us to the Temple this morning. They were ready and we continued to the Mission Office where missionaries were congregating. President & Sister Lee arrived, and everyone went inside the office and verified everyone was present and had a prayer and were off. Sister King, from Hilliard area joined us. Four vehicles left from the mission office, President & Sister Lee, the mission van, the Whiteheads and our van. Our high hopes for a quick and uneventful trip to Orlando were quickly dashed as we got on I-95 and within 5 miles were in a parking lot of cars and trucks. Early this morning (about 2:30 am) a woman from St. Augustine had taken a wrong turn onto the freeway and ended up going north on the southbound lanes and hit a van head-on killing both drivers and closing the freeway completely. For at least an hour we inched our way to an exit where we were able to detour around the accident. Back on I-95 we moved along as fast as we could to try and arrive at the Temple by 11:00 am and just made it with minutes to spare. We rushed in and changed and joined the other missionaries in the chapel. We had 31 single missionaries, 29 going home next transfer and 20 others who come to support or provide transportation for the group. It was a wonderful, full session. Following the session, we had a short devotional in a large sealing room and then met at the entrance and took group and individual pictures and a lot of hugging and tears as many of those missionaries would not see the Lee’s or the Whitehead’s in the mission field again. The final stop was the obligatory stop at Café Rio, and it was wonderful as usual, and we were stuffed when we piled back into the van for the final 2 hours back to the mission home. We dropped off Sister King where she met her companion and took Sister Weyland and Morse back to Sister Morse’ apartment and then we continued to ours. A wonderful day!

Saturday was a pretty light day for us, and we caught up on some much-needed rest. We cleaned the apartment and did laundry and went out for lunch and took a drive along the riverside drives around the Fort Caroline chapel. Some really beautiful homes and property.

Sunday morning, we arrived at the Penman Chapel and had a few minutes to visit and look for our families. There were a number of visitors and new families today and the chapel was filled. Following the sacrament, we heard from 3 young women who spoke about their experiences at girl’s camp and the final speaker was Bishop Dill. Shay Tuttle was there with the Noblits and Stephanie Jarvis and Tyler Gneck. Pam said Clive was sick and the Lagae’s wouldn’t be coming. We had Relief Society and Elder’s quorum meetings today and the discussions were excellent. After the meeting I met with two new families, the Southard’s and the Null’s. Seth and Chelsey Southard lived just down the street from the USO, and Seth was a Warrant Officer at the LCSRON. He was not a member, but Chelsey was, and they welcomed a visit. Sister Null was by herself and was a member, originally from Bakersfield, California. She was married to a Navy Chief and had 6 or 7 children who were all non-members. She indicated she hadn’t been active but felt the need to come today. They had just arrived from San Diego and would welcome a visit and help unpacking. So, we had some new work to do and hopefully establish relationships for the Kelley’s. 

Beautiful scenes along the Intercoastal Canal in Ponte Vedra Beach

Beautiful view from the bank of the Intercoastal Canal in Ponte Vedra Beach

The entire Florida Jacksonville Mission at Mission Conference, 19 June 2019

 Visiting following lunch at mission conference

 President & Sister Lee with Sister Alexander at Mission Conference

 Pam with Sister Wasden, one of our favorites

 Joe with Elder Plumb from Roxborough, Colorado

 President & Sister Lee on the Right, Elder & Sister White on the left leaving on the 27th.

 Pam with Sister Johnson, she served in the Fort Caroline District

 Pam with Sister Tidwell, she served in the Jacksonville Beach area

 With Sister Calli Moore, daughter of Cherish Johnson Moore who we knew from Monroe

Couple missionaries leaving the Temple on the 21st of June

Week 71 (10 - 16 June)

Monday morning began early, and we were ready to leave for the USO at 9:30 am. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) and Dave Ostrum were there and welcomed us back. Pam immediately went to the kitchen and helped Julie Davis with No Dough dinner preparations and two volunteers were setting up the main room for the dinner. I walked around with Dave and he showed me projects that were underway, and it seemed every room had a mess of new boxes and bins. I eventually began working on a several of Joyce’s projects, helping with the No Dough dinner preparations, moving items from last Saturday’s “Pub Crawl” event to the outside storage room and commencing a project to separate items from 3 separate donations to determine what items were current (date wise) and what could still be sent overseas. The two volunteers helped with that, and we got two of the three donations separated. Last week electricians came and replaced all the fluorescent lights with LED tubes and the brightness of the lights was pretty amazing in the office and in Charlie Tramazzo’s new office. About 3:00 pm it started to rain and for 10 minutes it was thunderous with lightning, thunder and pouring down rain and then it was over. Joyce didn’t need us for tonight, so we left at 4:00 pm and headed back to Arlington where we had some lunch and then home to our apartment.

Tuesday morning, I went to the USO by myself to help with the Feeding Northeast Florida food delivery and Pam stayed home to finish cleaning and laundry. Dave Ostrum opened the facility and received 4 pallets of food—meat, potatoes, dry goods, and baby food. We had so much baby food we didn’t know what to do with it all! After the delivery, Dave and I began sorting meat and after a few minutes a family—father, mother and son came, and assisted me. In short order we had 50 bags filled with chicken, beef and pork and placed in a freezer. The family continued to take food from the pantry into the main room for tomorrows distribution and I added 4 bins of snacks that came from the sorting we did yesterday. I also cleaned up the kitchen from yesterdays No Dough Dinner and at noon told Dave and Joyce I would be leaving. Back at the apartment Pam had completed all her jobs and the apartment was clean and laundry done. We did some shopping and had lunch and then returned to our apartment and studied “Come Follow Me.” At 7:30 pm we drove to the Naval Station and met with Jerald and Samantha Lagae and taught lesson 6 of the Temple Preparation classes. On Sunday they had met with Bishop Dill and had wonderful interviews. He issued Samantha a Temple recommend and established a plan of action to get Jerald ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. We were thrilled for both of them.

Wednesday morning, we replaced a broken bed from and Sister Weyland and Hall’s apartment and then drove to the USO for today’s food distribution by Feeding Northeast Florida. We had several volunteers arrive to help and I worked outside and Pam worked at the front desk checking in patrons. Finally, at 10:30 am the distribution began and as usual we had a busy first hour and then it tapered off. Outside we gave out meat bags, potatoes and diapers. About 11:00 am Joyce Schellhorn (Director) arrived and asked Pam to make some Pico for the center so she went into the kitchen and worked on that. Also, at about 11:00 am a huge thunderstorm blew through the area and for 15 minutes it was lightning and thunder and tremendous rain and then it stopped as the cell passed. Pam and I left the USO at 12:30 pm for an appointment to have the van serviced. There were still 18 bags of meat in the freezer, so we had served about 35 patrons throughout the morning. Back at our apartment, Pam finished a dinner for the Jarvis family tonight and we delivered the meal and blankets we had borrowed. Both Stephanie and Lance were home and the baby seemed to be doing well. We visited for about 20 minutes and then drove out to Mayport and met with the Lagae’s tonight.

Thursday morning, Pam and I opened the USO at 9:00 am and there was not much bread and pastries, but we took care of what we had, and I brought out potatoes from yesterday’s food distribution into the main room and also let anyone have what they wanted from the other food that was left. Pam manned the office and I went in the kids’ room and finished opening up boxes from the last of the donations and sorted through the contents. Halfway through a young volunteer helped me, and several other volunteers arrived about 10:00 am and helped with Megan DeGance’s project rolling Lumpia rolls for a future No Dough Dinner. Electricians were also busy today in the Kitchen wiring new circuits. Pam and I left about 1:00 pm and drove on base and delivered potatoes to the Heads, Lagae’s and Blacks. Rich Black arrived today on his new ship the USS Paul Ignatius, so we were happy for Jenny.

Friday morning, we left for the USO at 9:15 am and Dave Ostrum opened the facility. Pam straightened up the kitchen and I went to Beam’s and got a hundred pounds of chicken for a future No Dough Dinners. When I returned, Joyce asked me to take the leftover bread and potatoes to the Navy Exchange which I did. Back at the USO a local group had arrived to host a pizza activity that afternoon. There were a host of volunteers at the center, so Pam and I left at noon and drove to Joanne’s to buy some fabric for Pam to make Temple dresses for Eleanor and Fiona. From Joanne’s we drove to Costco and bought some water and then returned to the Arlington area and had lunch and then came home. Later in the afternoon I noticed our new neighbors in the apartment complex were struggling with a couch, so I went out and helped them move it into their front room. I think a mother, daughter, and granddaughter.

Saturday morning, we did some housework and laundry. Pam called Samantha Lagae about measuring the girls for dresses and learned they were home, so dressed for the day and left about 11:00 am for the Naval Station. Jerald was at-sea and Samantha was home with the kids. Pam measured the girls and we visited for a few minutes and then left and had some lunch. We stopped at Wal-Mart looking for zippers, but they didn’t have what Pam needed. We continued on to the St. John’s Center and Hobby Lobby and found the zippers. Pam finished laundry throughout the afternoon and evening and had a good visit with Travis who was on his way to Arkansas with his family for an outing with friends.

Sunday morning, we awoke to Father’s Day and Pam and I are fortunate to have been raised by wonderful parents and hard-working, faithful and loyal fathers. So much of who we are stems from the example of our father’s. We are also very proud of our five sons’ in their role as fathers. We couldn’t be more fortunate to watch these boys become men, choose wonderful companions and raise children of their own. We left for church in Jacksonville Beach about 9:45 am and met the missionaries; Sister’s Weyland and Hall and the new Elder’s Murri and Karl. Both companionships were on bicycles as the mission was in a huge car crisis right now (selling and buying new vehicles). Samantha Lagae and her children were with us today and also Rich & Jenny Black with Olivia, the Tuttle’s, Jarvis’s and Noblits were in attendance so we had a good military presence. Also, Tyler Gneck and we gave him two packages that came during the week. Sacrament meeting was excellent with talks on a Father’s Day theme. Sunday School was taught by Brother Hardy and he did an excellent job leading the discussion on the Atonement. In the afternoon we visited with a couple of our children and throughout the weekend heard from all of them and appreciated their sentiments.

 A few more pictures of Alex & Cynthia's visit to Jacksonville

 Emilia loved the beach

 Gary & Devaney Noblit at the Devotional in Orlando

 Marisol & Christian Perry with Declan at the Devotional in Orlando

 This is what a thunderstorm cell can do in 15 mins in Jacksonville

 Another view of a fast moving thunderstorm cell

Newly arrived missionaries this past week

Week 70 (3 - 9 June)

Monday morning, we awoke excited for Alex, Cynthia and their children were arriving this morning. We left for the airport at 10:15 am and we met them at the escalator, and it was so good to see them, especially Alex, Benny and Emilia. After hugs and pictures were taken, we moved to the baggage pickup area and then proceeded to the van. We drove to the River City Market area and had some lunch and then headed to our apartment where we got them settled. In the evening we drove to the Naval Station and bought some tickets to the Alligator Farm and drove around and showed them the various ships that were in port. We returned to our apartment and spent a fun evening visiting

Tuesday morning, we left for St. Augustine at noon and drove along Jacksonville Beach towards St. Augustine. At the Alligator Farm we spent two hours wandering through the facility and everyone enjoyed the alligators and other animals on display. The Alligator’s behavior were quite different from other visits when it was cooler. They seemed to find places in water and in the shade to battle the heat. Also, saw a lot more movement from the Alligators and that was enjoyable. We left about 3:00 pm and had some lunch and then went to the Castillo Del San Marcos and viewed the massive fort. It is always a very impressive monument to man’s creativity. From the fort we headed back to Jacksonville and our apartment, tired from the heat and walking and napped or got involved in quiet activities and spent a quiet evening visiting.

Wednesday morning, we left the apartment at 10:30 am and drove to the USO and picked up a couple of chairs and then continued to the Naval Station beach. It was very nice and uncrowded today and we set up south of the stairs and Alex and the boys went into the water which was quite warm. Cynthia and Emilia walked the beach, went into the water and enjoyed the sun. Pam and I sat in the chairs and watched our children have a good time and did a little walking. There were a few surfers trying to catch waves, but the surf was quite small. By 1:30 pm everyone was hot and tired, and we gathered up our things and a fresh-water shower by the parking lot rinsed off the sand and then we loaded up and left the base, had some lunch and returned to our apartment for the rest of the day.

Thursday morning, we crossed the St. John’s River on the ferry and continued to Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island. I was amazed at how dry the plantation was. The grass was brown, and they really needed rain. We walked around and enjoyed the history and significance of that place. From the plantation we continued on towards Amelia Island and crossed the various bridges and stopped in Amelia City and had a sandwich and then backtracked to the American Beach where Alex, Cynthia and the kids spent a couple of hours on the beach. Pam stayed up at the parking lot under a canopy and I walked the beach for a while and then joined Pam. After they were done for the day, we loaded up and returned to our apartment and got cleaned up and went out for dinner. Later in the evening, Pam and I drove to the Naval Station for a Temple Preparation class with the Perry’s and Lagae’s. We taught lesson 6 and it was very enjoyable to be with those two couples again in that setting. They both have strong desires to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and attend the Temple

Friday morning, we left the apartment at noon and drove to Jacksonville Beach and had lunch and then made our way to Adventure Landing and stayed until after 5:00 pm. We had a wonderful time and the kids and Alex, and Cynthia enjoyed it. After checking in and getting wrist bands, we played miniature golf, rode the go-carts and the boys and Alex played Lazar Tag. After they had used up their 5 free punches in the Dry part of the park, we moved to the Water Park and spent the rest of the time there. Pam and I found a spot to sit in the shade and watched the kids and Alex and Cynthia have a good time. There were numerous water slides and rides, some very quiet and unassuming and some scary and got your attention. The wave pool was a hit and provided a safe place to relax and enjoy the water especially for Cynthia and Emmy. There were a lot of people, but it wasn’t crowded and no lines for anything, so everyone had a good time. We left shortly after 5:00 pm and made our way back to the apartment and had some homemade Café Rio Burritos. Pam and I adjourned to our room at 8:00 pm and joined senior couples and President & Sister Lee on a conference call where we spent 45 minutes with Elder Whitehead going over the Devotional trip on Sunday and then President Lee had some of the Senior Couples give a short description of what they were doing in their areas. At 9:00 pm we again joined all the missionaries in the Transfer Call with President & Sister Lee. After the preliminaries and some instruction, President Lee got down to the business of the call and went through all the companionship's, indicating the changes and those who were going home. Quite a few changes in the Jax East Zone so we would meet some new missionaries.

Saturday morning, everyone was up and ready to leave by 11:00 am and we first drove to NAS Jacksonville and toured the airplane museum by the front gate for a half an hour. Alex, Cynthia and the kids got to see the P-3 on display and there was actually one flying in the bounce pattern while we were there. From NAS we crossed back across the river and had some lunch and then headed to the Naval Station where we dropped off Alex, Cynthia and their family and they spent the rest of the day at the beach. Pam and I went back to our apartment and did laundry. At 4:30 pm I returned to the Naval Station and they were just coming up from the beach. We loaded up and returned to the apartment and spent an enjoyable evening eating, visiting, doing laundry and packing for the trip home tomorrow morning. They loved the beach at Mayport, and the temperature of the water and the air were perfect today.

            Sunday morning arrived sooner than we hoped, and all good things had to end. We were up early and finished preparations for Alex, Cynthia and their children’s trip back to Denver and left for the airport at 9:00 am. We dropped them off at the airport and said our goodbyes and were so thankful for their visit. It was especially good to be with the grandchildren again and get to know Emmy better. From the airport we returned to our apartment and finished preparations for today’s adventure—going to Orlando to join with other members in a devotional at the Amway Center where the Prophet would be attending. We left our apartment at 10:30 am and drove to the Jacksonville South Stake Center and waited for Elder and Sister Mann and 50 missionaries to assemble for the bus trip to Orlando. While there we were entertained by a huge thunderstorm and violent rain, but we sat comfortably in our van. Gradually one by one cars began arriving with missionaries and at 1:15 pm the bus arrived, and we loaded up, took count and we were off for Orlando. The drive south took about 2½ hours and upon arrival in Orlando the driver dropped us off right at the Amway Center. Elder Mann and I gave some instructions to the missionaries and they were off. We all sat in different locations, and Pam and I made our way up and up to the “nosebleed” section and located our seats. For the next 45 minutes we watched thousands of saints arrive and fill the center with adults, teens and children and it was wonderful to be a part of this huge congregation. The Prophet and his party arrived at 5:15 pm and as the congregation stood, they came into the room, took their seats on the podium and shortly thereafter, the devotional began. A wonderful choir from the Orlando Stakes provided the music and sang a prelude piece and then Elder Bowen of the Seventy stood and welcomed everyone, and we began. Following an opening hymn and prayer Elder Bowen announced the entire program and we first heard a beautiful number by the choir, then excellent counsel from Sister Bowen, Elder Bowen, Sister Uchtdorf, Elder Uchtdorf, Sister Nelson and then from President Nelson our Prophet and leader. He gave wonderful counsel on these gospel truths:

·           God is our Father

·           Jesus Christ is our Savior

·           We are children of God

·           The Book of Mormon is the word of God

·           The priesthood has been restored

·           The gathering of Israel

·           Joy comes from keeping the commandments

The 90 minutes passed by in a blur and soon we were singing a closing hymn and the devotional concluded. We stood as the prophet and his party left the podium and it was tender watching him interact with the teens who filled the floor section of the center and also little children. After they left the arena, we began our way down and out and that took a while. We wondered how we would account for all 50 of our missionaries, but when we arrived at the assembly point, there they were and also our busses with sack lunches for everyone. As soon as we could, everyone got a lunch said goodbye to friends and other missionaries and we boarded our bus. Elder Mann and I took a count and told the driver we were ready to leave. The drive home was long and also in light rain most of the way, but we arrived safely back at the Stake Center about 9:30 pm. After saying our goodbyes to the Mann’s and the missionaries we got in our van and continued to our apartment arriving at 10:30 pm. What a wonderful day.           

 Alex, Cynthia and family arrival in Jacksonville

 Alex, Cynthia and family at Alligator Farm in St. Augustine

 Alligator's taking it easy

 Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine

Family at Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine

 At the Beach at Mayport Naval Station

At the Beach at Mayport Naval Station

 Aircraft Displays at NAS Jacksonville

 Alex, Cynthia and family leaving for home...sad!

 Bus ride to Orlando with full-time missionaries

 Amway Center in Orlando filling with church members

 President Nelson addressing saints in Orlando

Elder & Sister Uchtdorf with Pres & Sister Nelson at Amway Center in Orlando

Week 69 (27 May - 2 June)

            Memorial Day today. The USO was closed and Pam and I had a lazy morning. I published our Blog for last week and vacuumed the apartment, something I didn’t do last Saturday, and then dressed for the day. Pam and I drove to Jacksonville Beach and met Tyler Gneck and took him to lunch. Tyler’s an outstanding young man and we hoped the best for him. He had orders to a squadron on North Island in San Diego and he will be missed. He has been steady as a rock regarding church activity and served as secretary in the new Elder’s quorum presidency. Following lunch, we returned to our apartment and spent the rest of the day at home. Pam baked cookies to take with us on apartment inspections and I sent out a text to missionaries we would visit. I had a long visit with my brother Lynn, and he seemed to be doing okay. He would go home from a rehab hospital on Wednesday and seemed confident he would he would be able to manage at home.

Tuesday morning, we left for the USO by 8:30 am. Dave Ostrum opened the facility and we looked around to see what happened in the back offices over the weekend and it appeared like Charlie Tramazzo and Megan DeGance had put new desks in place and wires strung to give them the internet. At 9:30 am Dave went to a USO storage facility down the road and met Megan and they loaded their vehicles with boxes of marathon giveaways from last year. When they returned volunteers began removing bags from the boxes and emptying the contents and placing individual items into separate bins for future use. Unfortunately, most of the items had an advertiser’s name embossed on the item and that advertiser backed out of sponsorship! Throughout the morning Pam worked in the office and I did a couple of odd jobs for Dave outside and Joyce Schellhorn (Director). When done I broke down boxes and helped unpack bags and there were a lot of them. Dave said they had 7,000 entries last year but only about half show up for the race, so 3,500 bags were being unpacked. I guessed the next task would be to get new items with current sponsors logos and repack the bags as the 2019 race was in about 2 weeks. Pam approached me at 1:00 pm and said she wasn’t feeling well and felt we needed to leave. I stopped what I was doing and talked with Joyce and we left ten minutes later. She had pains in her stomach and was nauseated which brought up memories of a previous illness earlier in the year. We drove to our apartment and Pam lay down and promptly went to sleep. Later in the afternoon Pam indicated she was hungry and after a few minutes said she wanted an Arby’s sandwich and some fries, so we drove down the street and enjoyed the meal. We spent a quiet evening and Pam felt much better.

Wednesday morning, we were up early, and left for the USO at 9:30 am and made a stop at the Dollar Store and purchased a card and balloon for Eleanor Lagae who graduated from Kindergarten this week. Upon arrival at the USO Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was there along with Dave Ostrum, Charlie Tramazzo and Julie Davis. Charlie and Julie were busy in the back offices moving in. A volunteer was moving all the leftover food from the north end to the storage room and I helped in the storage room. When Megan Degance arrived, she, Dave and Joyce took all the filled bins and boxes back to the storage facility and brought back more boxes of shirts to sort out—never ending process. Pam and I left about 1:30 pm and drove to the Naval Station to see our families. We stopped at Nikki Head’s home and she was there but said her home was infested with fleas (ugh). Tony’s family had visited and brought a dog with fleas and she was planning to “bomb” her house. She was also still sick, and the boys recovering from various things and have flea bites all over themselves. We don’t know how she manages. Tony was coming home on the 8^th of June and hopefully that would help. She was also going away for a few days and would bomb the house then. From the Head’s we went to the Lagae’s and visited with Samantha. The kids were home from school and Eleanor loved the balloon and card she received. Another lady was visiting; a therapist for Eleanor, so we didn’t stay long and then returned to the Arlington area. We had a late lunch and returned to our apartment.

Thursday morning, we left for the USO at 8:30 am to help with “Feeding Northeast Florida” food distribution. Dave Ostrum was there and opened the facility and Pam manned the office and I helped Dave and other volunteers set up tents and tables out in the parking lot. The FNEF truck arrived and began unloading pallets of food and commodities and other FNEF volunteers and our volunteers set out the food. I did parking control and before we knew it the lot was full to overflowing. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) arranged with the owner of the vacant lot to the north of the USO to park in his field but vehicles had to go over a curb to get into the field. Dave had put some small ramps, and a few tried, but it wasn’t very easy. One car high centered and remained there all day long waiting for help. I brought two heavy pallets from the dumpster area and put them by the curb and then used the ramps and that seemed to work better, but it was difficult getting drivers to maneuver to make it to the ramps at an acceptable angle. However, we made it through the morning. Along with the food distribution was a USO Council meeting at 11:00 am and all the “heavy hitters” from the USO gathered and we had to provide parking for them also and Mike O’Brien wanted special places for them. I was up front and pointed the cars in the right direction and we made it through. Once the food distribution began and people began leaving the pressure was off. I didn’t see much of the food distribution, but everyone was happy, and we had a lot of volunteers to help patrons to their cars. The food drive ended at 1:00 pm and I went inside. The council meeting was ongoing, and excess food was being placed on tables in the south end for later distribution. Pam had been at the registration desk all morning with another volunteer helping her. All the regular volunteers and staff from the Mayport USO were ushered into the council meeting and tribute given to us for our service and that was nice. Pam and I left at 1:30 pm and had some lunch and then returned to our apartment.

Friday morning was the official start to the 2019 Hurricane Season, we conducted apartment inspections and left at 7:40 am and visited Sister Larsen/Oakes, Sister McCombs/Densley, Sister Baird/Gillins and Elder Carter/Minson—the last two in the Dunn Avenue area. We were assigned to inspect Elder Yentes/Young’s apartment here at the St. John’s Forrest, but they moved into a new apartment this morning and will catch them next time. Elder Whitehead also called and wanted to give our couch and chair to Elder’s Yentes/Young and would bring by a new couch and chair for the Kelley’s. We also received assignments for the 9^th of June trip to Orlando and were looking forward to seeing the Prophet. By 10:00 am we finished inspections and headed to the USO. Joyce Schellhorn (Director), Charlie Tramazzo and Julie Davis were there and not much was going on. The most significant item was finding a place for leftover bread and pastries and potatoes from yesterday’s food distribution. I took 3 bags of bread and a cart full of potatoes and delivered them to the Navy Exchange for their employees. Julie Davis and I also delivered more potatoes to the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Tyler Gneck came by the USO and picked up two packages that had come in the mail for him and it was nice to see him and a friend from his squadron. Pam and I drove to the Commissary and did some shopping for next week and then to the Naval Station and had lunch. At 2:30 pm so drove to Neptune Beach and visited with Sister Weyland/Hall and inspected their apartment. They had been to the Celestial Farms that morning and were getting ready to leave again for the day. We had a nice visit with them and then left for Arlington Hills. Elder Whitehead and two elders came by about 3:30 pm and changed out the couch and chair.  

Saturday morning, we discussed our morning chores and vacuumed the house, dusted the living room and our bedroom and Pam started laundry and cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen. We made up the twin beds in the dining room and moved beds in the guest bedroom to accommodate Alex and Cynthia. By noon we were pretty much done, had showered, dressed for the day and had some lunch. After shopping we took a drive north across the Dames Pt. Bridge and took Heckscher Drive to Amelia Island and wound our way up to Fernandina Beach, stopped at the historical center and checked on river rides and then returned to our home via I-95. It was a nice afternoon, and everything is greening up and is beautiful.

Sunday morning, we were both ready to leave for church by 9:30 am. A lot of visitors today at church with the blessing of the Wilkes baby. The Tuttle’s, Jarvis’, Noblit’s and Tyler Gneck were the only military families in attendance. We were hoping the Lagae’s would be there as Jerald got home Saturday (we thought). Probably just slept in. Good testimonies today and also a good Sunday school class. Following the meeting we drove to the Alexanders and returned their house key as they arrived home from their trip to Tennessee on Saturday. They had a good trip but were glad to be home. At our apartment we watched videos from Emily Freeman’s “Come Follow Me” syllabus on John 13-17 and it was very good. We also re-watched last week’s video and discussed the subjects of both lessons. We broke our fast at 4:00 pm with a pizza and settled in for the evening.

Feeding Northeast Florida Delivery Truck

 Food Distribution

 Food Distribution

 Little sports car high centered on the curb