Week 5

We began this week at the USO setting up a schedule for working there. We both completed their application process and decided to work Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 2-4 hours each day. They seemed very happy to have us. Elder and Sister Railes, our predecessors in Military Relations worked there and they were liked a lot. We did a little shopping and then Pam began fixing a dinner for our local Elders and I found a barber shop and got my hair cut. We had Elder Blanchard and Elder Plumb (from the Roxborough Ward in Denver) for dinner and enjoyed having them with us. Elder Plumb was getting transferred the next day to an areas south of and it was nice to see him again. 

Tuesday we drove to the Mission Office to discuss our membership status with the office staff. We are trying to get access to LDS Tools for the local wards and stakes, but needed to have our membership records "associated" with the mission. it took a while but after a few days it happened and now we had full access to membership records of 5 stakes in the mission for addresses and phone numbers. That is a huge blessing. From the mission office we drove to the Naval Station and checked in with the clinic to see if we could go there for medical care and especially for my protime testing and medication renewals. Well the answer was no! We could get meds at the pharmacy, but no service because of our retired status and being on Medicare and Tricare for Life. Pam had done a little research for providers in the area and while eating lunch by our apartment we noticed one of the clinics she had found was just across the street. We drove there and they were happy to help us and gave us the paperwork and information for appointments and after going home we filled out the forms and called the hospital and made appointments and we were set. 

Wednesday we went to our first session at the USO in Mayport. We learned how to check in (online) and then visited with Joyce (director) and another employee (Cheryl) and they got us going primarily in the office. We were surprised at the number of people who came in to get some service (primarily using computers) or to just look around. A free income tax service was being offered right now and they had a dozen or so people taking advantage of that. Also, a lady came to do interviews, and many came to buy tickets to a concert downtown. The Rails told us the USO was the primary way they found military members so we hope that will be the case for us also. At 5:30 pm we drove to the Mandarin Chapel south of us by the St. John's river to a meeting with the stake president. He arrived about 7:00 pm from work (He teaches pottery at the University of North Florida). We visited for a few minutes and then had a prayer and talked for about 30 minutes about our calling and a number of other issues concerning Military Relations. We didn’t get a lot of answers, but he became more informed about his role in our work. 

Thursday we got a call from the Mission Office. A mother in Arizona had called regarding her daughter who was stationed at Mayport and hadn't been to church yet. We took down the information and I called the young lady and she answered and we had a nice visit and arranged to take her to church on Sunday. Later that day we did some serious research on ships home ported at Mayport and found the church's Directory for Leaders was way out of date. I found the current ship assignments and also those on deployment and wrote an email to the main office in Salt Lake with the information to see if they could get the CDOL updated. 

Friday we were back at the USO by 10:00 am and we worked for an hour and then went to lunch and came back to help Cheryl prepare food for a Monday Dinner they sponsor every two weeks. It is called a "No Dough Dinner" and is sponsored by local businesses. They typically provide free meals to up to 150-200 people. Pam was working in the kitchen with Cheryl and I stayed in the office and took phone calls and admitted people to the facility. We met James, the night manager, and he was very nice. Actually all of them are nice and we seem to fit in well. When Pam was done I helped with dishes and then we came home--very tired! 

On Saturday Pam got up early and baked a cake for the Lee's. She wanted to thank them for allowing us to stay the night with them when we first arrived in Jacksonville. She was ready by 12:30 pm and we drove to their home south of us about 10 miles and we delivered the cake and had a nice visit with Sister Lee. President Lee was in an interview with a missionary and they had a stake conference to attend later on so we didn't stay very long. We had lunch at a local Ci Ci's. Remember that place on Kipling in Denver? Well it was really nice and we enjoyed the service, the food and the settings. Will probably put it on our lunch schedule. Oh Yes, Johanna and Travis do you remember "Whataburger" in Corpus Christi? Well they have one out on the beach and it was as good as we remembered. 

Today we set our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time and made it to church on time. We picked up Alexis Connelley, the young lady we got the call about during the week and enjoyed getting to know her. She enjoyed the Jacksonville Beach Ward and we plan to take her there on Sundays until she gets transportation. Pam is also going to go with her to a special Relief Society meeting Tuesday evening to welcome people. It was a good day. We talked to Alexis' mother later in the day and she grew up in Gunnison and had relatives in Central Valley and Elsinore--small world!

 Main gate at Mayport Naval Station

  Beaches at Mayport Naval Station

Downtown Jacksonville