COTTLE MISSION NEWS: Week 77 (22

Our last full week in the mission field!

Monday morning, Pam and left early this morning to pick up Sisters Weyland and Morse at Sister Morse’s apartment and take them to the Mission Office for their release activities with the Mission President. The Elders staying with us also had to be at those morning activities. Each of the Sisters had 2 huge pieces of luggage so we could see why they couldn’t get them in their little car. It was a tearful farewell for Sister Oakes and Hall but after hugs and pictures we loaded up and headed to the Mission Office which was full of Elders and some Sisters waiting for their activity today. 36 missionaries were going home on Tuesday—a huge group and would greatly impact the mission in terms of areas being closed down or numbers of companionship's changed. In the Jax East Zone, Jax Beach would lose the Sisters and Fort Caroline the Elders—change was inevitable. Back at our apartment we decided to go out to the Naval Station and do some visiting. We first stopped at the Lagae’s and Jerald was home and we had a nice visit with the family. Jerald hoped to have his interview with President Button this week. They really hoped they could both go to the Temple this coming Saturday (27^th of July). That would be fantastic. After spending time with them we drove to the Clinic to see if Alexis Connelly was working and she was. We gave her a wedding present, and she was very appreciative and came out into the waiting area and visited with us. We congratulated her on her wedding, and she told us how it all happened, and we wished her well and hoped she and Charles could be co-located soon. Later in the morning Alexis texted us the following: “Just wanted to say thank you again for the gift, and apologize for not being around for the past few months. I didn’t want to disappoint you with not going to church. I hope you have a safe trip home.” We were so happy we made this connection again and hoped the best for her. Later in the afternoon we returned to the USO and the place was hopping with military families attending the No Dough Dinner. We walked in and greeted many of the volunteers and went to the office and visited with James McCullough who was the night manager. He was happy to see us and said some nice things about our contribution to the center. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was back and we visited with her and she seemed pleased with the turnout and the meal itself. After visiting and taking some pictures we left. At 9:30 pm, the Elder’s returned for the night and we had Elder Hibbert, Robinson, Tuckett and also Elder’s Rice and C. Smart. So, we had a full house.

Tuesday morning, the Elders were up at 5:00 am and the bathroom was going strong for about an hour and then they left at 6:30 am to drive to the Mission Office and eventually the airport and home. After they left, we cleaned up the kitchen and Pam and I stripped parts of the bunk beds as only 1 of the beds had been slept in. The other 3 just slept on top of the bed with their own bedding. We got laundry going and cleaned up the bathroom and had a bag of hair products that the Elders had left and threw them away. By 9:00 am we were back to normal and did some studying and preparing for our day. At 10:30 am we drove to the Dunn Avenue Social Security Office, next to the Dunn Avenue chapel, and got our addresses changed on our accounts. That took over an hour as the waiting room was quite full of patrons. From there we returned to the Arlington area and had a late lunch and a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some cake ingredients and back to our apartment. Pam prepared dinner and at 5:00 pm Elders Young and Stevens joined us for a wonderful meal. Elder Young was from Blackfoot, Idaho and Elder Stevens from Ephraim, Utah and was in President Troy Birch’s stake. They were Zone Leaders in the Jacksonville East Zone and great Elder’s. Throughout the afternoon Samantha Lagae began texting us about plans for the Temple this week. First, she was looking at Saturday for her and then it changed to both her and Jerald for Saturday, but the last session for Saturday was at 1:30 pm and they weren’t sure we could be there early enough as Jerald couldn’t get off the ship until 9:00 am. Later on, the discussion changed to Thursday for Samantha and Saturday for Jerald and eventually changed to Thursday for both of them if they could get child-care. When Sam called the Temple, they told her they should bring their children as they had good child-care in the Temple and do the endowment and sealings all on Thursday. We were all for that and so were the Lagae’s. The question mark was Jerald’s final interview with a member of the Stake Presidency. Between Samantha and me, we must have called or texted Brother Queen (executive secretary) a dozen times pleading with him for an appointment. He had to talk with President Heywood, who was in California, to eventually approve President Bridegan to conduct the interview. An appointment was made for Wednesday evening and we got that final word about 10:00 pm—the answer to endless prayers. Samantha had made an appointment for Thursday and with God’s blessing they would be an endowed and sealed family by Thursday evening.

Wednesday morning was Pioneer day in Utah and Erin and the children and Sarah & Andrew, and their family were at our home in Monroe enjoying the festivities. We made reservations for a boat ride with Amelia Island Tours out of Fernandina Beach this morning and drove to Fernandina Beach, arriving about 9:40 am. Unfortunately, it looked like rain all morning, but when I checked in at the office, they said the boat was going, so we got in line and boarded the boat and joined another 40 or 50 people on the tour. The route took us along the historic Fernandina town area and then across an opening to Cumberland Island and the majority of the tour was along Cumberland Island which was about 18 miles long. We had one period of heavy rain, so all the curtains were dropped, but other than that it was a nice day and we enjoyed the ride and especially the information given by the announcer. He was very knowledgeable about the area and the island and seemed to have intimate knowledge of the Rockefellers, Carnegies and other rich people who owned sections of the island. Historically, Cumberland Island was in private hands, but large areas were deeded to the National Parks Foundation by members or heirs of the Carnegie family in 1971. Other lands in private ownership were purchased with funds provided by the Mellon Foundation and Congress, and in 1972 Cumberland Island was designated a national seashore. A small number of private property owners preserved the island and protected it from massive commercial development, and still owned homes on the southern, western and northern regions of the island. Visiting the island was restricted to 300 people per day and the waiting list was long. We also saw the Kings Bay Subbase from the ocean side and the narrator gave quite a bit of information about the subs that operated from there. After two hours we turned around and returned to Fernandina Beach with a little more speed and talked individually with the narrator and the captain of the boat and they were very interesting characters. The entire tour was delightful. After exiting the boat, we drove around the historical part of Fernandina Beach and saw some of the old mansions the narrator mentioned. We retraced our route through Amelia Island and took the ferry back across the St. John’s river to Mayport and had some lunch and then returned to our apartment. Later in the evening Jerald had his interview with President Bridegan and it went well, and we were set to go to the Temple Thursday. Samantha gave me her user ID and Password to family search, and I updated their family and printed off a Family Group Sheet so they could be sealed. We were going to meet them at the Temple and couldn’t wait!

Thursday morning, we awoke early this momentous day. We left for Orlando at 8:30 am and met the Lagae’s at the distribution center when garments were purchased and then we entered the Temple. Ordinance workers were waiting for us and we had recommends checked and then the children were whisked away to the nursery and turned over to some wonderful ladies who entertained them for the next 3 hours. Pam and I were escorts, and stayed with Jerald and Samantha through the records check, dressing, initatories, visits with the Temple President and Matron and then into an ordinance room for the Endowment. Jerald and Samantha seemed to enjoy everything and did very well and looked beautiful all dressed in white. Jerald and I and Pam and Samantha were first at the veil and as Pam and I sat in the Celestial room we shared impressions on how things went for Jerald and Samantha and when they joined us were all smiles and thoroughly pleased. We reviewed the covenants made and answered questions. Jerald and Samantha were returned to the veil and a short veil service was performed and Jerald was given the opportunity to bring Samantha through the veil and learn her name. Next all four of us were escorted to the large sealing room where the missionaries always met during our Temple visits. I sat as one of the witness and Pam sat near me and Jerald and Samantha sat in the couple’s seat. Brother Joel Warner, a sealer, visited with us for a while and then instructed Jerald to bring Samantha to the altar and he kneeled on the opposite side. Following a little more instruction and counsel, he performed the sealing ordinance. It was the first time Pam and I had heard the words since the chances to the endowment occurred at the first of the year and the sealing ordinance had changed significantly also and was very nice. After the blessings were pronounced, they kissed across the altar and it was done. They returned to the couple’s seat and then Brother Warner explained the next phase when the children would be brought in. Jerald and Samantha were placed at the ends of the altar and Eleanor, Fiona and Clive came in all dressed in white and looked so beautiful. Mom and Dad held hands and each of the children’s hands were placed on Mom and Dad’s and then the three children were sealed to their parents. It was a most beautiful and humbling experience for Pam and I. Eleanor, Fiona and Clive did just fine. The Lagae family were sealed as an eternal family and the looks on their faces was priceless. Brother Warner was also the Patriarch of the Jacksonville East Stake and Jerald and Samantha had made appointments with him for their blessings in the future, so that was nice to meet him. After the family all stood and looked into the infinity mirrors, we were escorted back downstairs. The adults changed shoes and we went outside and took some pictures in white and then returned to the Temple and changed into street clothes. It had been a long day, but they did so well and were so happy with this step they had taken.

Who would have thought 18 months ago this day would have occurred? Certainly, Pam and I hoped for such an outcome, but honestly never seriously considered they would be so invested and prepared for this day when we first met them. The changes they made regarding their attitudes and living the commandments were made easily and without rancor or complaint. Once a decision was made it happened and we could see their countenances and understanding change and mature as new concepts and ideas were presented. Even the children changed as their attendance at church became more consistent. They were more reverent during sacrament meetings and loved their primary classes. The Gospel really changed lives! Many small miracles occurred along the way as Jerald’s schedule seemed to doom any chance for these ordinances to occur as they did. We fully expected to attend Samantha’s endowment, and later on Jerald would go and then the children would be taken for the sealing ordinance, but we were so grateful for a Temple worker who counseled Samantha that they should all come together and do everything at once. Schedules and time opened up, Jerald received his priesthood interview when his ship miraculously came into port unexpectedly and later the ordination took place while home for a weekend with the necessary name presentation and sustaining. Then the challenge of getting the recommend interviews made it look like it wouldn’t happen easily as first President Heywood was gone for the entire month of July and then President Button left also on vacation—but it did as prayers were proffered, calls made and permissions give for President Bidgegan to do the final interview last evening. We were so very grateful to have witnessed this day and to have been a part of the Lagae family legacy as they moved forward on the covenant path—never doubting, just moving forward in Faith!

Friday morning, we were lazy today and that was exacerbated by the fact we had no water for about 3 hours. Didn’t know what happened but a major break in the apartment complex required a shutdown. We did some cleaning and organizing and eventually left the apartment at noon and drove to Costco to change our phones from T-Mobile back to Verizon. It took a while because we couldn’t remember a “pin” number we had used to create our T-Mobile account, but finally got that taken care of and eventually were able to finish the transition. We had some lunch and then returned to the apartment and did more cleaning, organizing and napping. In the evening we returned to the Beach and a dinner invitation at the Jarvis’. Elder Murri and Elder Bair, a new Elder, were there for dinner also and it was nice to meet Elder Bair who was from Rexburg, Idaho. Elder Murri would be an outstanding trainer. They were the only companionship in Jacksonville Beach as the Sisters were taken out of the area when Sister Weyland went home. Actually, the Arlington/Fort Caroline/Jacksonville Beach districts were down to 4 companionship's. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed an hour with the Elder’s and then they left for an appointment. We stayed a little longer and Stephanie and Lance presented us with a cutting board Lance had made from a variety of wood, and it was beautiful. He still had a little work to do, so we didn’t take it with us, but the woodwork was gorgeous.

Saturday morning, we spent getting ready for our move—a little packing, a little cleaning and planning for next week. We had been invited to attend a gathering of senior couples in Gainesville today, so at 11:00 pm we left our apartment and began the journey to Gainesville which took about 90 minutes. We located the gathering spot, the Hippodrome Theater in old downtown Gainesville, The Hippodrome Theatre building was constructed in 1911 and was a Post Office and Courthouse before being converted to a theater in 1973. The interior was in good condition, maintaining much of the original walls, doors and beams from its post office and courthouse era. It had a 268-seat stage main stage theater on the second floor and 80-seat cinema space on the first floor and was about a half a mile from the UF campus. We met the Barbers on the front steps and visited with them until other couples arrived—the Alexanders, Whitakers, Barbers, Goochs, President & Sister Wood and ourselves. In the movie theater we saw a recently released movie titled “Amazing Grace.” The film was shot in 1972 at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles. Aretha Franklin was there and joined Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir in a two-night concert filmed by a dozen independent hand-held cameras without any plan or outline. Consequently, the soundtrack of the film and the film was very difficult to sync, and the film lay on shelves for some 40 years. Finally, an enterprising man put together about 2 hours of footage and the movie was released in 2018 following Aretha Franklin’s death. It was a documentary of her Gospel roots, with little talking, mostly just music with the Choir and Cleveland. I think we enjoyed watching the reactions of the mostly black congregation in the film responding to the music and Aretha’s amazing vocal range and talent, but I hesitate to say whether it was “good” or “bad” definitely a treasured documentary. Following the movie, we all drove to the Whitakers home about 8 miles SW of Gainesville in a very nice housing complex. Brother Whitaker had ordered sandwiches and for another hour we ate and visited, and it was very nice. We sat with the Barbers and the Woods and it was interesting to hear about the Wood’s first month in the mission. Finally, Sister Alexander brought us together and invited each couple to describe what they were doing as missionaries and that was enjoyable with a lot of give and take of ideas and concerns. We felt like this type of meeting would be very productive and enjoyable in the future and they planned to continue every transfer (every 6 weeks) rotating between different locations. We were missing about half of the senior couples and hopefully that would change as the gathering became more common. We thanked the Whitaker’s for hosting this first meeting and said goodbye to everyone as we would probably not see any of them again in Florida and left for our home in Jacksonville.

Sunday morning, we left for Jacksonville Beach at 9:30 am and enjoyed visiting with the saints and also a wonderful sacrament meeting where the Currie family were invited to speak prior to their leaving for South Carolina following Bishop’s retirement from the Navy. A wonderful family that would be missed in the ward. We were joined by the Lagae’s, Jarvis’ and Noblit families and the Lagae’s were smiling and happy with all that transpired last Thursday. I briefed the Bishop on the Temple activities and he was very pleased. Jerald was given an opportunity in Elder’s quorum to stand and tell about the trip to the Temple and he expressed himself beautifully. Following the block, a “linger Longer” was held to honor the Currie’s and I believe the entire ward was there with food galore and a lot of visiting and picture taking. Pam and I had a nice visit with the Currie’s. Back home we settled in for the afternoon and did some studying in “Come Follow Me” and also reviewed a few older lessons that we had missed. At 5:00 pm we drove to the Naval Station for dinner with the Lagae’s. When we arrived, the Perry’s, Jarvis’, and Wes Alexander and Kyler were there and that was all a surprise. We had a nice dinner (potluck) and great visits with everyone and finally picture taking and lots of hugs. Tara Alexander was sick as was Trista or they would have been there. The kids played well with each other and the food was delicious. Tuttle’s were out of town as were Jenny Black and Olivia, but we would stop by another day to say goodbye to them and the Head’s. We received a call from Sister Kelley this afternoon. They were in Topeka, Kansas and their truck had broken down and they thought it was a water pump. So, until they get that fixed, they were stuck.