Pam and I began our week at the USO and were surprised at the number
of cars in the parking lot. Dave Ostrum and Cheryl Vandiver had opened, and volunteers
were working on “no dough” dinner preparations in the kitchen and on adjacent
tables. Pam worked in the kitchen and I spent the morning setting up the main
rooms—salad, condiments, dessert and drink tables. By noon all the preparation
was done, and volunteers began to leave. Cheryl said they had chief selectees
coming in the evening for the dinner and we didn’t need to stay. We shopped for
the week and then returned to our apartment and did some laundry.
Tuesday morning was Primary
Elections in Florida and the USO was a designated polling location, so they
closed it for normal operations. Dave Ostrum opened the facility and stayed
throughout the day, so we didn’t go in at all. We cleaned our apartment and
then drove across the river to the Dunn Avenue section of town to find a Beauty
Supply store where Pam bought a permanent and some needed supplies to do a
permanent at home. On the way back, we drove along the north side of the river
and took the Ferry across the St. John river and continued to the Naval Station
to see Samantha LaGae. She was home with two of her three kids and we had a
nice visit. Jerald was at sea for a couple of weeks. After the visit we
returned to our area and had some lunch and then returned to our apartment
where Pam finished Alice’s Baptism dress and it was beautiful.
Wednesday morning, we drove directly
to the Beach Church on Jacksonville Beach and picked up a dozen boxes of fruit
and vegetables and then continued to the USO. A fitness class was in process
and all the tables and chairs were out of the main rooms because of the voting
yesterday. We unloaded the food onto the pool table and got it sorted,
displayed and pictures taken and posted on a Military wives Facebook page. Pam drove
to the Naval Station and took care of Fiona and Clive while Samantha LaGae organized
her office. She was beginning an online college course and couldn’t get
anything done with the kids underfoot. After the fitness class left I swept the
floor and together with Dave and a volunteer set out tables and chairs and got
the facility back to normal. Once Facebook got wind of the food we had a steady
stream of military wives and husbands coming in to see what was available and
by noon most of the food was gone. Pam returned at 1:00 pm and we visited with
Dave for a while and confirmed schedules and left. We had some lunch and did
some shopping. While at Wal-Mart I had the van serviced and new wiper blades
installed. Here in Jacksonville, the wipers get a workout. Later on we drove to
the chapel in Jacksonville Beach to meet the Sisters (Knudsen & Davis) and
when they arrived, took them to dinner. We enjoyed the meal and visiting with
them for an hour. Both are Sister Training Leaders and super missionaries.
Thursday, we opened the USO at 9:00 am and laid out the bread
and pastries that arrived the previous evening. By 10:00 am patrons began
arriving to check out the bread and goodies and also Cheryl Vandiver arrived
for her shift. We spent a quiet morning answering phones, checking in patrons
and a few other sundry jobs. At noon we left and had lunch and then went to a
dental appointment later in the afternoon. I had a molar removed that had been
giving me issues as the root had split and was infected. Doctor Jeffrey had
babied it for years, but now it needed to come out. The whole process took
about a half an hour and once the tooth was out the doctor filled the root
socket with bone graft material, sealed it up and I was done. The next step was
either do nothing or have an implant put in ($$$). We made a stop at Wendy’s on
the way to our apartment and got a large Frosty—Yum!!
Friday morning, we awoke normally, and I had a good night’s rest
and my mouth felt fine, so we went to the USO and spent the morning. Cheryl
Vandiver was working with one community service volunteer. It was a pretty
quiet morning and Pam and I worked in the office taking care of donations and doing
a little housework. At noon we drove to the LaGae home on the Naval Station and
visited with Samantha for a few minutes. Following lunch we returned to our
apartment and Pam gave herself a permanent and did a beautiful job.
Saturday morning, I texted Tara Alexander about coming to mow
her lawns, but she replied the Elder’s had come by the previous Thursday and
did the job. We asked if we could take her and kids to lunch and she said she
and Samantha LaGae and kids were meeting at Costco and would we like to join
them, so we did. It’s been wonderful to witness this friendship that has
developed. Even though they live 10 miles apart they do a lot of things
together and support each other. When they arrived, we got in line and
bought a lot of hotdogs for the kids. It was good to see them all and received
hugs from Eleanor, Fiona, Clive, Tristin and Kyler. They were very good and ate
their food. After visiting for a while, we said our goodbyes and Pam and I did
a little shopping and returned to our apartment.
Sunday morning, we drove to the
Jacksonville Beach Ward and greeted the saints and other missionaries. Tyler
Gneck was there along with Shay Tuttle and Jennie and Rich Black and their
daughter Oliva. It was the first time we had met Rich. Sacrament meeting was
excellent and following the sacrament we enjoyed many testimonies. I bore my
testimony after having had a dream about it this morning. Felt it was a
prompting. Following sacrament meeting we attended the gospel principles class
and enjoyed Brother Novak’s lesson on Tithing. The Sisters had two men they were
teaching, and they were both interesting and challenging individuals. Following
the block, I visited with Rich in the foyer, but he was very shy. We hope to be
a positive influence on that family. I texted Alexis Connelly before we left
the Beach, but she didn’t answer so we returned to our apartment. Alexis went
to her brothers Boot Camp graduation in the Army during the week and on the way
back to Jacksonville was involved in a car accident. Don’t know all the details
but hope we can help her if needed. Emailed our monthly report to Salt Lake and
also to the mission president and President Lee called and we had a nice visit
with him regarding our work. Appreciate their support.
Sounds like you had another busy week. It was great to visit with you when I called on Friday... You didn't tell me about your tooth! Hope it is healing well. Love you💕
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