Week 29 (20-26 August)

Our week began at the USO this morning as we arrived at 10:00 am to help Cheryl Vandiver who opened the facility. Pam went right to the Kitchen and began baking cakes and I worked in the office with Cheryl. We were busy with patrons wanting football tickets and also numerous phone calls. There were several other small projects we worked on throughout the morning. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) arrived at 12:30 pm and we discussed the next few days as she and her husband were going to Europe Friday and will be gone for two weeks. Pam and I left about 2:00 pm and had some lunch and then came home. Pam fixed a Café Rio Salad meal for Samantha LaGae’s birthday. We returned to the Naval Station at 4:00 pm and took the food to the LaGae’s home and saw the family for a few minutes. From there we drove to the barracks and picked up Tyler Gneck, Alexis Connelly, Andrew Cooper and Blake Harris and took them to dinner. We had never met Andrew or Blake but enjoyed getting to know them. Andrew served a mission in the Florida Jacksonville mission about 3 years ago. He was a Logistics Specialist (LS). Blake also a returned missionary and served in the Illinois Chicago Mission in 2012. He was a Religious Program Specialist (RP). We went to “Smashburger” and had some dinner and visited for about an hour and then took them back to the base. Andrew attends regularly at the YSA Branch, but we arranged for Blake to come to the Jacksonville Beach ward with Tyler or Alexis. Hopefully he will start coming regularly. He just returned from a deployment on the USS Iwo Jima.   

Tuesday morning, we at 10:30 am and drove to the Beach Church to see what food was available this morning. We got 3 boxes of fruit, eggs and bread and took them to the USO where they were made available for patrons. Cheryl Vandiver took pictures and posted them on the wives Facebook page and within an hour everything was gone. Pam and I filled 13 bookbags for elementary students and that completed all the bags that we had. That made about 150 bookbags we filled and distributed this summer. We visited with Joyce Schellhorn (Director) for a while and then left at 1:00 pm as they had several volunteers and didn’t need our assistance. We had lunch and came back to the apartment and cleaned and prepared for Elder’s to stay with us tonight. At 9:30 pm we drove to the Mission Presidents home and joined the group of 12 new missionaries that were getting their indoctrination from President & Sister Lee. Two Elders were assigned to us, Elder Dew and Brimhall and when they finished their interviews with President Lee, joined Pam and I and we returned to our apartment. Elder Dew was from Provo and Elder Brimhall from Taylor, AZ, near Snowflake. They were both high school graduates from this year. At our apartment we got them situated in their bedroom and had prayers and all went to bed. It had been a long day for them as they had been up since 4:30 am in Provo.

Wednesday morning Pam and I were up early and fixed some breakfast for the Elder’s. Afterwards they gathered up their few things and we loaded up the van again and headed south to the Mandarin Chapel. We took the missionaries to the Institute room where the “new missionary training” was taking place and said our goodbyes and returned to our apartment. Amazing how much quicker it was to drive north than south! At home we ate some leftover breakfast and did some laundry of bedding and towels to get ready for the next visitors. We were tired and rested throughout the rest of the morning. After lunch we did some shopping and then returned to our apartment and made some phone calls for visiting appointments and also worked on a new scrapbook of our activities here in Jacksonville.

Thursday morning, we left for the USO at 8:30 am and opened the facility and there was a moderate amount of bread and pastries. We got them tabulated and set out and then the day began with patrons coming for the bread, tickets and other services. Pam went into the kitchen and spent the morning baking cakes. I manned the office until Cheryl Vandiver arrived at 10:30 am. She retrieved tickets from the safe and did all the ticket sales for this weekend’s Jaguar’s football game. I also did some consolidation and re-organization of school supplies in the back-storage room to prepare for the arrival of items for an upcoming USO sponsored Marathon in October. In the afternoon, other volunteers arrived so we left and had some lunch and then returned to our apartment.

Friday morning, we arrived at the USO at 10:00 am and David Ostrum opened the facility. Charley Tramazzo was also there, and a group of ladies were holding a meeting in one of the wings. Pam went to the kitchen and baked a couple more cakes throughout the next few hours and when done had 12 cakes in the freezer for future “no dough” dinners. Her “double chocolate Bundt Cakes” have been a hit. After finishing another project for Joyce Schellhorn (Director), we left for the day and had some lunch and then returned to our apartment. We made more phone calls to our families to check on Sunday.

Saturday morning was a day we had been looking forward to for some time. We were going to Orlando to attend the Temple with Tara Alexander, the wife of one of our families from the Arlington Ward. When we first met Tara, her goal was to receive her endowments this summer and she has been steadfast in this goal. Her husband, Wes, is on deployment on the USS Detroit and his plans are to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood when he returns in the Fall and then go himself. We left at 9:00 am and had an uneventful drive to Orlando, arriving at noon. We checked on garments at the distribution center before entering the Temple. After dressing Pam and I were asked to be the witness couple and were taken to the appropriate ordinance room. It was wonderful to see Tara come in with her friend from Texas, Tami Benson. Pam and I got up and greeted them and then took our seats and the session began at 1:30 pm. Following the session, we sat in the Celestial room for some time visiting and while there met two other couples from the Arlington Ward who had also been on a session and were there to perform sealings. Tara was invited to witness the sealing and we joined them where Sister Commander had her mother and father sealed to each other and then Sister Commander was sealed to her parents. It was a very tender moment. We returned to the Celestial room and visited with Tara and Tami for some time before going downstairs to change and leave the Temple. Tara enjoyed the session very much and was very happy with her decision. It was also her birthday today so that made it extra special. After leaving the Temple grounds we drove to Café Rio and had a late lunch. Tami was Tara’s Young Women’s advisor when Tara was a teenager living in San Antonio, Texas. They had kept in touch over the years and what a special thing for her to come and be an escort for Tara. We said our goodbyes to them and headed north to Jacksonville. The weather cooperated nicely all day long even though it appeared like rain was possible when we left the Temple. What a great day!

Sunday morning, Pam was up but not feeling too well. She was coming down with a cold, which started yesterday. At 9:30 am we drove to Jacksonville Beach and attended sacrament meeting. Tyler Gneck was there along with the Jarvis’ and the LaGae’s were out in the foyer. Alexis’ was having car problems and trying to get it fixed before she leaves Tuesday for her brother’s boot camp graduation in North Carolina. After the meeting we left and returned to our area. We had planned to attend the Fort Caroline ward meetings but decided instead to just come home and put Pam to bed. That is what we did, and I think it helped her throughout the day. In the evening we got a call from Travis and he broadcast a family gathering for Emilia’s birthday at Alex and Cynthia’s home. It was nice to see everyone, especially “birthday girl.” 

New Missionaries who arrived last week with President & Sister Lee

 Elder Brimhall & Elder Dew who stayed with us

 Sister Byington & Sister Abril, new Sisters in the Arlington Ward

 Orlando Temple

 Orlando Temple

 Angel Moroni

 Tami Benson, Tara Alexander & Sister Cottle

 Tami Benson, Tara Alexander & Elder Cottle

 Sister Cottle, Tara Alexander & Elder Cottle

Week 28 (20-26 August)

Monday morning was the 20^th of August and we began our day doing some shopping at Wal-Mart for school supplies to put in backpacks at the USO. We continued to the USO and spent a busy morning. Pam helped with “No Dough” dinner preparations and I did a dozen odd jobs for Joyce Schellhorn (Director). We were primarily trying to get the facility back to where it was last week. Everything had been taken off the walls on Saturday when the Chief Selectees came and painted out the facility. I took out trash, recycle paper, moved tables, chairs, sorted and hung pictures, etc. At noon we received a text from Stephanie Jarvis telling us that she was very sick and wondering if we could bring her lunch. We texted back “yes” and left at noon and went to Panera’s and bought some soup for Stephanie and went to her home. She was on the living room couch and could hardly move. Her stomach was in knots and she thought she was passing a Kidney stone. We felt so bad for her but were glad she thought us for help. At 1:30 pm we returned to the USO and continued helping for the night’s dinner. Volunteers were coming from all over the place and when James McCullough arrived at 4:15 pm Joyce said we weren’t needed if we wanted to leave. So, we came back to our apartment.

 

Tuesday morning, we left for the USO at 9:30 am and spent the morning and early afternoon serving there. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was in the office and Pam spent her time baking cakes in the kitchen. I continued helping re-hang pictures and other memorabilia left from the painting project. We re-arranged the items in the front foyer and I packed a dozen backpacks with school supplies. Joyce went home for an hour to take care of her husbands’ dog and when she returned Carole, another volunteer, arrived as did Dave Ostrum, so Pam and I finished what we were doing and left about 1:30 pm. We drove to Niki Head’s home on the Naval Station, but no one was home. The Head’s just moved into housing from a transfer from the Norfolk area. We were anxious to meet them. An hour later we drove to the Alexander’s and had dinner with Tara and her children. Tara had also invited Elder’s Willets and Brooksby and it was nice to get to know them better. Elder Willets was from Wellsville, Utah and Elder Brooksby from West Jordan, Utah. After the Elder’s left the LaGae’s came and brought a birthday present for Kyler Alexander and it was nice to see them. They spent the weekend at Disneyworld.  

 

Wednesday morning, I had an INR appointment with Doctor Hoffman and arrived at 9:00 am. She went over my INR of 1.9 this morning. I couldn’t believe it didn’t go up more, but she wasn’t too concerned. She was, however, concerned about a tooth extraction on the 30^th. She had been contacted by the Dentist office and instead of stopping Warfarin 5 days prior to the extraction, she changed me to Xarelto which was a fast-acting alternative. She said I might get spoiled because with Xarelto there was no testing and no dietary restrictions. However, it was quite expensive, but I might be able to get it at the Base Pharmacy for free, so we would see in September. I picked up Pam and we drove to the USO and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) was there along with Dave Ostrum and Charley Tramazzo. I did some jobs for Joyce, the largest one involved several boxes of books that were donated to the USO yesterday. Joyce went through them and picked out about 20 she wanted for the library and the rest we could dispose of. I took them out to the recycle bin and tore off the covers. The pages went into the recycle bin and the covers into the garbage bin. I later told Pam, it felt sort of like “burning books” in the olden days. However, few people read actual books anymore. Right in the middle of the project it began to rain. I moved over to one side under a tree because it wasn’t too hard, but that only lasted about 5 minutes and then it was pouring down. I finally gave up and ran to the patio and Pam brought me a towel to dry off. 10 to 15 minutes later the rain had stopped, and I finished the job. Joyce left to take care of her dog and Pam and I visited with Dave for a while. There wasn’t much to do so at 1:30 pm so we left for the day. We drove to the Head’s home on the Naval Station and Nicki and Tony were home and we got to meet them and one of their sons. They were in the process of unpacking but seem happy to be in Jacksonville. They joined the church in Jacksonvile about 3-5 years ago and were in the old Atlantic Beach Ward (which was disestablished). Jean McKendrick, Fort Caroline Ward, was good friends with them and let us know they were transferring back to the Naval Station. After our visit we returned to our apartment through another huge rain storm. At home I called the sister missionaries up north to confirm our trip to Orlando and Pam continued sewing on Beth’s dress. I also updated our military family file with information on the Heads. We hoped they would come to church Sunday, so we could introduce them around.

Thursday morning, we got to go to the Temple again in Orlando. We drove to the Fort Caroline chapel and met Sisters going with us; Sisters Goeller, Perry, Swann from the Kingsland Zone, and Sisters Rhoads & Ferguson from the Jacksonville East Zone. On the way south, we visited and discovered they were all going home. They were a fun bunch and kept themselves occupied as we drove along. We made two pit stops and with traffic snarls near Orlando caused a late arrival, but we made it to the group photos in the front of the Temple. Elder & Sister Schroeder and Waite, from Gainesville, were the only other senior couples besides us. Following pictures, we entered the Temple, changed and met in the chapel. There were 33 missionaries and several couples from wards coming to support missionaries going home, so it was a nice session. We sat in the Celestial room for about 15 minutes and visited then went to a sealing room for a short devotional where we heard from President and Sister Lee and President and Sister Duke of the Temple presidency. After more pictures outside the Temple, we drove to Café Rio and had a wonderful lunch. We kind of overwhelmed the place when we arrived but they seemed to handle us okay. We dropped the Sisters off at the chapel at 6:15 pm and returned to our apartment, happy but tired!

Friday morning, they didn’t need us at the USO, so we drove to a Social Security Administration office across the river. We were concerned that new cards that were coming out would be mailed to our Monroe address and wouldn’t be forwarded. A young lady helped us, and we got our address changed, cards ordered and set up to access our accounts online. We returned to our area and had lunch and also mailed Beth’s baptism dress to her and were anxious to see a picture. Back at our apartment we updated our family lists and made some phone calls for appointments.

Saturday morning, we drove to Tara Alexander’s home at 9:30 am and Pam visited with Tara while I mowed her lawns. She was doing all right and looking forward to the Temple on the 25^th. Back at our apartment we got cleaned up, began some laundry and texted 8 individuals to invite to church or to find out information about them and got responses from 4 so that was a good effort. At noon went out for lunch and stopped at Wal-Mart and did some shopping for next week and then returned to our apartment. Pam did some cooking and sewing. I kept the laundry going and updated files. At 9:00 pm we joined the Transfer call and heard the changes that would take place next week. Sister Ferguson & Rhoads would be replaced by a new Sister and a new missionary, Elder Vaughn was going to be an Assistant to the President so Elder Aiken would get a new companion, Sister Vai would join Sister Newman in Dunn Avenue, and Sister Davis would join Sister Knudsen at the Beach. All other assignments in the zone remained the same. We had been asked to host two new Elder’s on Tuesday night so looked forward to that.  

Sunday morning, we were happy to hear about President Nelson’s statement on the name of the church, with an emphasis that we should be using the full name and not “nick names.” Alexis Connelly texted that she was not feeling well this morning and we felt bad for her. Her migraines just continue to plague her. We left at 9:30 am for Jacksonville Beach and enjoyed the meetings. Tyler Gneck sat with us and Jennie & Oliva Black were there, but we missed the LaGae’s and the Head’s did not come. Tyler was sustained and set apart as Elder’s Quorum secretary today and that was very pleasing. Following the block, we returned to our apartment and had some lunch and rested. I drove to the Hendricks chapel at 6:15 pm for General Priesthood Meeting and sat with Tyler Gneck, who had come with Ryan Dill, the Beach Ward Elder’s Quorum President. Quite a few men from the Beach Ward were there and it was a good meeting on various subjects—President Nelson’s challenges, Nauvoo trip, Priesthood, Ministering, Unity. Following a hymn President Bridgegan spoke, then President Button and the concluding speaker was President Heywood. They all spoke on various aspects of Ministering. It had been a good week.

Dunn Avenue District

 Fort Caroline District

  Missionaries going home next week

All missionaries at the Orlando Temple 

 All missionaries at the Orlando Temple

 Missionaries at their half-way point

Week 27

Monday morning, we received several responses from the Bishop’s emails sent out yesterday and hopefully will get a response from all of them, but it helped update the status of several military families and individuals. We opened the USO and it seemed had non-stop phone calls, mostly about NFL Jaguar tickets. Pam manned the office and I went to the new storage room and sorted through school supplies that arrived recently. Cheryl Vandiver came at 10:30 am and opened the safe so we had money to sell tickets. At 1:30 pm Dave Ostrum brought another 100 backpacks filled with school supplies and we took them to the new storage room and the room was awash with backpacks. Joyce Schellhorn called from the road (she was on her way back to Jacksonville from Clearwater, FL) and wanted the backpacks sorted by category (elementary, middle school, high school). I did that and left the zippers open, so we could add items as necessary. Joyce finally arrived about 3:30 pm and we visited about upcoming events. Pam finished the afternoon sewing and I evaluated the new responses from the Bishop’s letters.

Tuesday morning, we had a more leisurely start to the day, but eventually headed to the Beach Church on Jacksonville Beach and picked up a van full of food for the USO. The USO was also hopping with volunteers when we arrived. Charley Tramazzo’s church youth group were there to work in the yard and 3 other community service volunteers were busy inside. We unloaded the van and put the food out on the pool table and eventually updated a Navy wife Facebook page and people began arriving to pick up the donations. Pam worked in the office and I went into the new storage room and put some order to the room and then filled 30 backpacks for elementary school students. That left about 50 which could be elementary or middle school students depending on what was added to the bags. At 1:30 pm another volunteer arrived so they had plenty of help and Pam and I decided to leave as it was bedlam in the office. We did a little shopping and returned to our apartment where Pam continued working on Beth’s dress and I made phone calls to new names.

Wednesday was a day off from the USO as they were having the floors stripped and waxed and was closed for patrons. It was going to be a sewing day for Pam and I had a project to solve with the van. We had an issue with the transmission recently. It has gone into the “Limp” mode three times in the past 2 months. Nearly every system in the van is operated by a computer – including the transmission. In the “Limp Mode” the computer senses something is not right with the transmissions functions and won’t shift into 3^rd or 4^th gear. So far, we have been able to pull over, shut off the van, restart it and the computer reset and everything works okay. We are very concerned when the last two occurrences happened within 3 days. I found a highly recommended shop just a mile down the road (Active Transmissions) and visited with “Robin” at the front desk. They needed the van for two hours and recommended Thursday or Friday. We were committed in the mornings on both of those days but hoped to bring the van in about noon. At 5:00 pm I drove to Elder Hibbert & Smart’s apartment and picked them up for dinner. I also did an apartment inspection. Back at our home dinner was ready and at 6:00 pm we ate a wonderful Spaghetti dinner. Elder Hibbert was from Layton and Elder Smart from Draper and Elder Hibbert was the District Leader. They were fine Elders. After dinner they gave us a message and I took them back to their apartment. Later in the evening Pam “Face Timed” with Erin and they discussed setting up the quilting machine in Monroe, so Erin could finish a wonderful project she was working on for a friend.

 

Thursday was an interesting morning. We were out the door early and arrived at the Naval Station by 8:00 am to help in a Welcoming Booth on the pier for the arrival of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) home from deployment. As we turned onto Mayport Road, the main gate was backed up for a quarter mile so apparently a lot of people were either going to work or going to the Iwo Jima and New York arrivals. We thought it was the later. It took a while but soon we got on base and followed the traffic flow to a parking lot by the pier. We found the Navy Exchange tent that joined in giving out water, travel kits, goodies to snack on and generally observe the thousands of wives, husbands, children and families gather to welcome home the ship which had been gone since early February. There were 6 large tents set up along the pier with chairs providing seating for families. The first sighting of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) was around 8:45 am it followed a tugboat shooting water cannons on either side and welcoming the fighting ship. They came into the turning basin and eventually pushed up to the pier. It took so long! A far cry from the Oosterdam that had forward and aft side thrusters and did all that type of maneuvering on its own and quickly. Once tied up it took another hour to get a brow in place, but the families were very patient. As the first sailors walked off the ship families surged forward to greet fathers, sons, husbands, wives, daughters, etc. It was very heartwarming to watch this and reminded us of a few arrivals I had made on the “Connie” or when a squadron came home. The Iwo Jima had a crew of around 1,100, so it was a significant homecoming. When it appeared the last of the crew had exited the ship we helped the Navy Exchange clean up as they were moving to another pier for the arrival of the USS New York (LPD-21) later in the afternoon. Pam and I didn’t have to stay for that arrival and made our way to our van and drove to the USO for a short scheduling meeting. From the USO we came back to our apartment and I dropped Pam off and continued on to Active Transmission to have our van checked out. After dropping off the van, I wandered around the area, had some lunch, and eventually returned to the shop and waited and visited with the owner. Finally, at 2:30 pm the technician gave the owner the bad news. No codes in the computer which was strange, but upon pulling the pan off the transmission, the fluid smelled burnt, was black and gray and had metal in it. That was all bad news. Back in the office we discussed options. Rebuild, Replace or do nothing. I returned to our apartment and Pam and I sat down and weighed the pros and cons and finally decided we would have the transmission re-built. The most significant decision was when? They needed the van for at least 4 days. Sister’s Gillin’s & Johnson arrived for dinner at 6:00 pm and we had a fun hour with them. They were so animated and thrilled to be serving a mission. Sister Johnson from Kaysville and Sister Gillin’s from Bountiful. Sister Johnson also had Icelandic heritage and looked the part.

 

Friday morning, we up early and on the road by 7:40 am to do apartment inspections. We arrived at a new location for the Dunn Avenue Elders and Sisters. Their previous apartment would not renew their leases as they didn’t want to lease to “Mormons.” Sad commentary on our times, but in the “Bible Belt” you never knew what you would come across. We also had three apartments near our home and completed them and then drove to the Beach to meet with the Sisters. All the apartments looked great and we were impressed with their preparation and cleanliness. Before coming back to our apartment, we went to JoAnn’s and bought more fabric for Beth’s dress. Pam sewed most of the afternoon and I worked on our family lists and made a few phone calls.  

 

Saturday morning, we were up and at it early again. This time we arrived at the USO at 7:30 am to help set up for a food giveaway from the organization “Feeding Northeast Florida.” When we arrived the parking lot was packed and people were everywhere. We learned new Navy Chief Selectees (at least 50) were gathered to do a service project at the USO and were everywhere. The primary project was painting the interior of the USO. Dave Ostrum was orchestrating this effort. The food began arriving at 8:00 am and set up at the back of the parking lot. Pam and I and another volunteer set up the check-in table on the back patio, so patrons didn’t have to enter the facility at all. I had 4 chief selectees fill back packs and we ended up with over 50 to distribute to the children of military families throughout the morning. Food distribution commenced at 9:00 am and we had a steady stream of families coming for food until they ran out about 11:30 am. The backpacks were all given away and we had very few school supplies left in the storage room—which was a good thing as school starts in Jacksonville Monday morning. By noon we wrapped up things and had served over 125 families. On the way back to our apartment we did some shopping for a military dinner tomorrow afternoon. Later in the afternoon we drove to the Alexander home and celebrated Kyler’s 2^nd birthday. We gave him a gift and he was pleased. He must be missing his dad because he came right to me when we arrived and sat on my lap most of the time we were there. In the morning Tara and family had gone to the zoo and celebrated Kyler’s birthday with other families.  

 

Sunday, we attended the Jacksonville Beach Ward and Tyler Gneck was with us, also Jennie & Oliva Black, the Jarvis’ and Shay Tuttle. Alexis called and was in bed with a Migraine, also the LaGae’s were on their way home from Disney World and hoped they arrived safely and had a good time. Sacrament meeting was excellent with good talks and music. We attended the Gospel Principles class with a nice group and finally, priesthood and relief society and enjoyed the classes. Following the meeting we visited for a few minutes with Tyler and Shay and then came home. Pam finished a fruit salad for dinner tonight and I called Blake Harris and he answered and I visited with him for a few minutes. He was still attached to the USS Iwo Jima and not sure of his schedule for the next little while but will let us know. His father and brother went home yesterday after having been here for the ships arrival. I also called Andrew Cooper, another single but left a message. At 5:00 pm we drove to Lance and Stephanie’s home in Atlantic Beach. There were a number of families and individuals there and we joined in. Attendees were Lance & Stephanie Jarvis, Jennie & Oliva Black, Shay Tuttle, Alexis Connelly, Tyler Gneck, Devaney & Gary Noblit (recently married) and Devaney’s two sons, and Tara Alexander and Trista and Kyler. After a blessing on the food we began eating wonderful grilled chicken on Shish kabob sticks with salads, chips and dessert. It was very good, and we enjoyed eating and visiting. When everyone was finished, we gathered in the living room and Stephanie asked me to say a few words. I talked about the importance of maintaining spiritual balance with spouses whether deployed or not. Too study the scriptures and have family prayer alone or together and bore my testimony of its importance. Everyone left about 7:30 pm and it had been a good night with promises to do this again periodically. There are a few others who could be invited to such an event and we will work on those. End of a great night. Additionally, we had a huge thunderstorm this afternoon—washed all the grime away!

 "Mutt & Jeff", Elders Smart & Hibbert for dinner

 Sister Cottle at USS Iwo Jima arrival

 Tugboat with water cannons "blazing"

 First look at the USS Iwo Jima (Helicopter Carrier)

 USS Iwo Jima at the pier with sailors manning the rails

Families welcoming home crew

 Unknown family reunited with "new" baby

 Sisters Johnson & Gillins for dinner

 Feeding Northeast Florida at the USO

Kyler Alexander with Mom on his birthday

 Military family dinner at Jarvis' home 

 Stephanie Jarvis & Sister Cottle in a serious discussion

 The cooks: Lance Jarvis, Tyler Gneck and Alexis Connelly

Kyler and Trista on stools and Devaney Noblit's son

Week 26

Johanna asked about a blog for last week and I was sure I had written one, but upon examination couldn’t find one for Week 26, so here goes a little late.

Our week began at the USO where we helped prepare for the “No Dough” dinner in the evening. It was a hectic day as usual but fortunately we had a goodly number of volunteers which made light work for all. In the evening Pam and I raffled off school book bags. Each child who came with their parents filled out a little slip and then the Director pulled names out of a bucket and these families were called and notified they had won. Over the next few days we handed out these bookbags filled with school supplies—about 30. At 7:30 pm Pam and I took food to the gate guards at the Naval Station and then drove to Tara Alexanders and gave her a dish of “wings” and visited for a few minutes. This was her 2^nd full week without a husband who is on deployment on the USS Detroit.

Tuesday was report day and I worked on the monthly report to send tomorrow morning. We report directly to Church Headquarters regarding our work, so that is a little different from most senior companionships. At 9:00 am I went to the local medical clinic to check on some medications that our supplier wouldn’t fill due to the change in providers. I hoped it would take care of the issue for the next year. We drove to the USO and helped Cheryl Vandiver until 11:00 am when we went to the Beach Church and was offered a large about of food which was surplus for them and distribute to needy family at the USO. Cheryl and Pam layed out the food on the  pool table and took pictures and published it on a military wives Facebook page. At noon Pam and I drove to the Naval Station and located the LCS Squadron Headquarters and delivered items for a brief that Joyce Schellhorn (Director) normally gave herself. She couldn’t be there today, so we took the items to the squadron and an instructor would do the briefing. Later in the afternoon Pam began working on a baptismal dress for Beth.

Wednesday morning, I was back at the medical clinic for an INR test. It was still low—1.8 (goal 2.0 - 3.0) and Doctor Hoffman changed my regime again to try and get me above 2.0. When finished we drove to the USO and helped there for a couple of hours. We took a large number of items to the Navy Exchange to be used in next week’s Welcome Home festivities for the USS Iwo Jima and New York. While at the USO, Pam got a call from Samantha LaGae needing help. She had a doctor’s appointment and her husband, Jerald, hadn’t come home yet. Pam drove to her home on base and sat with her children for about an hour. That wasn’t hard duty for her as little Clive is joy. Back at our apartment Pam baked cookies for families.

Thursday morning, we opened the USO and processed the normal bread and pastry donations from the previous night. It was a good selection, the most we’ve received in almost a month. Pam managed the front office and I took more items to the Navy Exchange for the ship return celebration. We were busy today and had 5 mothers with their children come to enjoy the Children’s Room and for the children to play with each other. I didn’t hear crying, so things must have gone all right. We also had a community service worker come and he was a hard worker and cleaned the bathrooms and mopped the main floor area. Cheryl Vandiver arrived about mid-morning and two JIA (Jacksonville International Airport USO) volunteers came and brought more Travel Kits. At 1:00 pm they had plenty of help, so Pam and I left. At 4:00 pm we returned to the Beach area and went on the Naval Station to the home of Jennie Black (new military member family) and Stephanie and Lance Jarvis were visiting, so we joined them, and had a nice visit for about an hour. Jennie is getting settled and her daughter has a friend nearby and would attend school within a block of their home, so life was good for them. Her husband is in Mississippi as part of a pre-commissioning team for a new ship the USS Polynesia. We left a plate of cookies and then drove to the LaGae’s at 6:00 pm and had dinner with them and spent a very enjoyable couple of hours.

Friday morning, we were at the USO again helping Dave Ostrum until Cheryl Vandiver arrived. Dave is a new part-time employee they hired recently to give the night manager some time off. Cheryl trained us on selling Jaguar NFL football tickets, which is a big deal during football season. In the afternoon Pam and I walked to the workout room at our housing complex and walked on treadmills for an hour and we needed to do that more often.

Saturday morning, we were up early and at 9:00 am went to the Alexanders and mowed lawns for Tara. Pam went inside and visited while I did the mowing. It took about 90 minutes to finish and looked pretty good when done. St. Augustine grass never will look as great as normal grass, but it’s done for another two weeks. We returned home and did housework. I vacuumed, and Pam cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen. We also did 4 loads of laundry. In the afternoon we did some shopping and stopped at the homes of 3 military members and learned that one family had moved but the others were not at home. We got a text from a single member at the Naval Air Station and it was a relief as we hadn’t heard from her for over two weeks and were afraid we had hurt her feelings or something.

Sunday morning, we drove to the Beach and attended the Jacksonville Beach Ward and enjoyed their block of meetings. Alexis Connelly and Tyler Gneck were there, and they came together, which was nice. The Jarvis’ were also there along with Shay Tuttle, but we missed the Black’s and the LaGae’s. Each had some sick children. Following the block, we drove back to the Fort Caroline Ward and met the Bridger family, West & Ceyda and their two children. We hoped to see Angie Trejo, but she and her mother were not there today. After visiting for a while and making an appointment to visit the West’s at their home we returned to our apartment. In the afternoon we established a schedule to do apartment inspections during the following week with the full-time missionaries and wrote an individual letter to each Bishop in the Jacksonville East and West Stakes with a list of families that we have questions about and asked for their assistance. We also asked if there were military families they knew of that were not on our lists.  We hoped this would resolve questions we have had. Been a good week!

Week 25

Monday morning found us at the USO by 10:00 am and we worked with Cheryl Vandiver who had opened the facility. She had been getting Jacksonville Jaguar (NFL) tickets ready to sell at noon. This was a really big deal for military members and we have been getting calls for weeks about when the tickets would be available for the pre-season and season games. Pam stayed in the office and I went to the storeroom and spent an hour sorting school items into individual bins and labeling each bin. I put extra back packs on the shelves and cleaned up the floor and was done until Joyce Schellhorn (Director) directed otherwise. At 11:30 am Dave Ostrum (new temporary employee for the evenings, arrived, and he and Cheryl took inventory of all NFL tickets, put them into row packets and at noon began selling them to a half dozen men and women who were waiting. They sold for $20 instead of almost $100 on the open market. Pam and I didn’t get involved in those sales and that was okay with us. At 1:30 pm it was obvious we were not needed so we said our goodbyes and drove to the Navy Exchange and did a little shopping for some Peppermint Essential Oils and found two bottles. Sister Shirts, from the Jacksonville Beach ward told us she used the oil as a mosquito repellent and it works fabulously, so Pam wanted to try it. We had lunch and did a little shopping at Costco. While in the store a terrific rainstorm came through the area and against the metal roof you could hardly hear yourself talk. Just as soon as it started it was finished but the parking lot was awash with water.

Tuesday morning was the 24^th of July but just another day here in Florida. We hoped Erin and Sarah and their families were having a grand time in Monroe. We saw some pictures of the Primary parade the previous evening and all the cousins joined in the walk along Main Street. We looked forward to pictures of the parade and other events they enjoyed. Sarah ran in the “Milk Run” and was the overall winner of the 5K, both men and women, so we are thrilled for her. We arrived at the USO at 10:00 am and Cheryl Vandiver and Charley Tramazzo were both there and Pam and I began doing a few odd jobs. Pam helped in the office and I took care of some donations which arrived the previous day. We had a number of people come for Adventure Landing and Jaguar tickets and also several who used the computer room and needed office support. Joyce Schellhorn and Dave Ostrum arrived at 1:00 pm and Pam and I left a half an hour later. We had lunch at a wonderful Mexican restaurant (Tijuana Flats) and then returned to our apartment. Weston sent a beautiful picture of the cousins on the front porch and it almost did Pam in as she was quite homesick knowing the kids were at the house and enjoying the 24^th of July. But seeing the grandchildren brightened our day. I spent the afternoon and early evening calling all remaining names on our military families lists. I got information on 11 families that had transferred from the area and another list of families we need to visit in order to confirm their status.

Wednesday we were in the USO again at 10:30 am and spent 3 hours working in the back room filling 25 book bags with school supplies. We had a good visit with Joyce Schellhorn (Director) about the next two weeks scheduling as Cheryl Vandiver is taking some leave and Joyce is going to Europe for 2 weeks towards the end of the month. We left at 1:30 pm and had lunch before returning to our apartment. At home, Pam received a box from Erin with some clothes and other sundry items she had requested, and it was like Christmas. We also enjoyed video and photos from the 24^th celebration in Utah. At 5:30 pm we returned to Jacksonville Beach and picked up Sister Knudsen and Eberhard and took them to dinner at “Panera’s.” We had invited them to our home, but it was not convenient for them, and out of their area, so we decided to go to them instead. We enjoyed a delicious meal and visiting with the Sisters. They are a strong companionship and Sister Eberhard is in her last month of her mission.

Thursday we were up early and on our way to the Hendricks Avenue Chapel for Zone Conference. President Lee gave some welcoming remarks and then turned the time to Elder Carter, one of the AP’s, who conducted the meeting. Throughout the morning we heard from President and Sister Lee and Elder Carter and Masino. They all gave wonderful instruction to the missionaries and a sweet spirit prevailed. Following a wonderful lunch and Zone pictures, we returned to the chapel and had a closing hour from President & Sister Lee, with a video from Elder & Sister Holland and learned that Sister Holland was seriously sick but had a miraculous recovery that permitted her to speak. Finally, a tribute to the missionaries who were in their last transfer and an opportunity for them to bear a short testimony. Following the meeting we shook the hand of each missionaries and then left. It had been a spiritually uplifting day and gave Pam and I some useful ideas on how to work with our Military families. President & Sister Lee seem happy with our efforts and we hope we are contributing in a positive way.  

Friday was a quiet day for us and we spent the morning doing housework and laundry. We found several dead bugs under the furniture, so the “bombing” we did last Sunday seem to have worked.  We drove to the St. John’s Center and had some lunch then to JoAnn’s for Pam to get some needed items for baptism dresses she is making for Beth and Alice. In the evening we had a huge storm pass by with rumbling thunder and lightning that went on for minutes at a time and tremendous amounts of rain. There were storm warnings throughout Northeast Florida, so it was a serious storm.

Saturday morning, I finished reading the Book of Mormon again and the final chapters of Moroni are so poignant and tender, reminding us of the love of Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. Especially their invitation to enjoy the fruits of the Atonement and seek to do good and to love all mankind. What a challenge that places on us as we face the onslaught of Satan, whose goal is to divide and conquer; to draw us away from anything that is of “light and truth.” I pray that we all will be faithful to the truths in the Book of Mormon and constantly seek to improve our lives and devotion to family, to the church, and to our Heavenly Father.

We left our apartment at noon and spent a few minutes with a T-Mobile representative and he helped us figure out an issue with Pam’s tablet. It was all pretty simple. We then drove to Wal-Mart where we got a prescription filled and a picture of the grandchildren printed which Weston sent us earlier this week from the 24^th of July in Monroe. Pam also bought a cutting board to layout cloth. We had lunch and took an extended drive through our area of Jacksonville by the St. John’s river and found a community park where we could walk out on a pier into the river and view the Dame’s Point Bridge and the coast line both east and west. It was beautiful. Finally, we returned home, and made a dozen phone calls checking on families and individuals to visit tomorrow after church.

Sunday morning, we began in the Jacksonville Beach Ward and attended their sacrament meeting with the LaGae, Black and Jarvis families in attendance along with Alexis Connelly, a single member. Tyler Gneck, our other single went to the YSA Branch to “check it out.” Following sacrament meeting we introduced the LaGae’s and Sister Black and then Pam and I drove back to the Fort Caroline Ward building and attended the last two hours of their block and enjoyed visiting with the two sets of missionaries and ward members. After church we made some visits to homes of individuals we couldn’t get to return our calls or respond to our texts. Our primary goal was to determine if the family was still located in Jacksonville. We started out with the Beger family and they were home, but Amanda Beger (member) was not available and I talked with her husband for a minute and he indicated we needed to contact her another time. But she was in the area and the address was good. We next went to the Overlie family whose records were still in the Fort Caroline Ward, but another family lived in the home. I talked with the owner and he said he had lived there for 5 years and didn’t know any Overlie’s. We next went to the Speakman family, but they lived in a controlled access facility and the gate guard said there was no Speakman family living there, so that was an answer. Finally, we went to the Hammatt family and tried to find their apartment, but the apartment address didn’t make any sense so will have to drop by the leasing office to see if they still live there. With that we came back to our Apartment and Pam fixed some dinner for us and we enjoyed the meal and watched some programming on KBYU and settled in for the night. 

  

 St. Johns River Front Property

 St. Johns River Front Property

 St. Johns River Front Property

 Dames Point Bridge across the St. John's River

 Houses along the River front

 Community Center by St. Johns River

 Sister Whitehead, Elder & Sister Mann & Elder Grieve at Zone Conference

 Elder & Sister Cottle entering the cultural hall for lunch at Zone Conference

Senior Missionaries at lunch

Sister Eberhard & Knudsen, STL working in Jacksonville Beach 

Elder Hibbert (6'9") and Elder Plumb at Zone Conference

 Elder Plumb with District friends from Kings Bay District at Zone Conference

 Sister Knudsen, Sister Newman, Sister Roderick, Sister Ferguson, Sister Eberhard at Zone Conf, all working in our Zone, Jacksonville East

 Relief Society Sisters and WML from Fort Caroline Ward who provided lunch at Zone Conf.

Jacksonville East Zone with President & Sister Lee--Great Missionaries!

Week 24

Our week began at the USO, but first we drove to the Naval Station and dropped off a birthday cake for Jerald LaGae who is celebrating today. At the USO we began helping Cheryl Vandiver with preparation for tonight’s “No Dough” dinner. Pam supervised several volunteers from JEA who were cutting up vegetables for the tossed salad. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) had me doing a number of little projects around the center. I also set up the salad and dessert bar areas. At noon I grabbed Pam and we went for lunch at Whataburger and also made a deposit for Joyce and filled up two natural gas tanks for the grills. Back at the USO we continued setting up for dinner and around 4:00 pm volunteers began arriving to serve and at 5:00 pm the dinner began. We didn’t have a big crowd, but those who came seemed to enjoy the meal. Pam and I worked at a giveaway table where children could pick out toys, games or stuffed animals. Joyce had boxes and boxes of those items and the kids loved touching each item, trying to decide which one was just right. At 7:00 pm Pam and I took food to the gate guards at the Naval Station and then returned to the USO and helped clean up and put away.

On Tuesday we returned to the USO at mid-morning and Joyce Schellhorn (Director) put us to work. The main event of the day was peeling potatoes left over from the dinner Monday evening with the hopes of turning them into mashed potatoes for the next dinner. It was quite a job. Pam and I spent two hours on the potatoes and finally got them done. As we got them peeled I ran them through a shredding machine and cut them into potato bits and bagged them and put them in the refrigerator. We’ll see how they work out. A community service worked came just as we finished and helped us clean up. At 2:00 pm and we said our goodbyes and came home. Just as we got out on the road a tremendous thunderstorm hit along the Wonderwood road with torrential rain, wind and thunder booming every few seconds. Thankfully the traffic wasn’t bad as we moved along at about 25 mph. By our apartment the storm had let up, so we stopped at Arby’s and got some lunch. Pam spent the afternoon fixing dinner for tonight. The Lance & Stephanie Jarvis came for dinner and we enjoyed their visit. They arrived at 6:00 pm and we sat down to a wonderful meal—Ginger Chicken! They are a fun couple and have been married for a year. Lance is on the USS Philippine Sea which is in drydock across the river and we see his ship everyday as we drive to Mayport. Stefanie is currently unemployed but is working on several potential jobs. She is qualified in child development and has taught special education so it’s only a matter of time. She is from Rifle, Colorado so we have talked about our drives through her town often. Lance is from South Jordan and they met in a YSA Ward in Salt Lake. After dinner we sat in the living room and visited for another hour and Lance taught a home evening lesson on “Gratitude” and we had some good discussions. It was an enjoyable evening.  

Wednesday morning began at the doctor’s office. I had an appointment (to make up for one I missed 10 days ago) and needed an INR test (clotting factor) done. We were also having lunch with Alexis Connelly and Tyler Gneck at noon on base. At the clinic a nurse took us into a treatment room and did the INR test—1.7 (normal is 2.0-3.0). When Doctor Hoffman came in we visited over the low number and she asked me to make some changes to my meds for a week and then return on the 1^st of August for another test. Both Pam and I got meds ordered and then we drove to the USO and dropped off a cake Pam made for Joyce Schellhorn (Director). Pam said Joyce was eating a piece as she left. We drove on base and found the Subway restaurant and met up with Alexis and Tyler and had a nice lunch with them. They are both enjoyable to be around and are actually doing a few things together. We returned to the USO at 12:30 pm and spent 2 hours working on children’s book bags for Joyce. Another volunteer helped us, and we put together 25 bags before we left. While there we witnessed another terrific rain storm with lightning and thunder, but it was pretty much done when we left.

Thursday morning, we opened the USO this morning and there were some bread and pastries, but not nearly the amount we usually had. We tabulated the value and then opened it up for patrons. An air conditioning man came shortly after we arrived and spent the morning going over the system throughout the building checking flow rates, etc. Pam took care of the office and I worked on the bookbag project again. The bins of items were all mixed up so I sorted them and then filled another 20 bookbags. Pam was busy keeping up with the calls and guests at the front desk. We had a couple of other volunteers come to work, but they mostly talked and not much work. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) finally arrived about 3:00 pm and we turned things over to her and left. We drove to a new pizza place call “Your Pie” and it was good. Reminded us of “Mod Pizza” in Provo and Denver.

Friday, we did not work at the USO, so spent time doing housework and laundry. I moved all the furniture to vacuum and found several roaches (dead) so the bait seemed to be working. Pam cleaned the bathrooms and started laundry and by noon we had the final load in the washer. We went to Freddy’s for lunch and passed through a couple of heavy rain storms coming and going. Back at the apartment we took care of the laundry and were done for another week. I sat at the computer and went through our list of military contacts and began calling every number to try and locate people. I spent about 3 hours doing this and made substantial progress and resolved several questions about location. I talked with several people from out of the state who had transferred and enjoyed visiting with them for a few minutes. Pam spent the afternoon making cookies to distribute next week to our families.

Saturday was supposed to be rain free, so we drove to the Alexander’s house at 10:00 am and Tara was home with her kids. Wes left on deployment last Wednesday, so we hope to be of service to her. I mowed their lawns and Pam visited and helped Tara inside. Pam sprayed me liberally and I didn’t have any issues with bugs, even the bees seemed to evade me. Wes has 4 hives in his back yard and I could see them around the boxes, but they didn’t come my way as I mowed. When done I joined them inside and we visited for a few minutes and then returned home for a quick shower. We drove to the Naval Station and took a plate of cookies to the LaGae’s and Clive was doing much better. The family was heading out to the zoo, so that was a positive sign. We then drove to an apartment building to try and see Angie Trejo, (another military single mother) but couldn’t get through the security gate. She won’t answer her phone, so will have to try something else. We had lunch and did a little shopping before returning to our apartment.

We attended church today in the Jacksonville Beach Ward. As we entered the chapel we noticed President Lee was there and it was nice to visit with him and he sat with us. Tyler Gneck, the Jarvis’ and Shay Tuttle were in attendance and the meeting was excellent. Alexis had a migraine this morning, so she stayed home. Following the meeting Sister Jennie Black, a new military wife, came up and introduced herself to me. I had talked with her on the phone yesterday and was happy to see her. Her family moved from Newport, Rhode Island and her husband is on a pre-commissioning team for a new DDG in Pascagoula, Mississippi. They will be a nice addition to our military families and live on the Naval Station. We visited with Sister Knudsen and Everhard and decided to meet them at the Beach for dinner on Wednesday instead of them coming to our home. During the last hour rain started coming down in buckets and standing in the foyer looking outside I wasn’t sure we would get to our van. Finally, in a lull I raced out and got an umbrella and came back to the chapel and Pam and I made it to the car. The rain is an amazing thing here in Jacksonville and I’m not sure we will ever get used to it. This morning when we left the apartment we set off two “Bug Bombs” in the bedroom and living room and upon arrival they were done so we opened the windows and turned on the AC again and left it that way for an additional 2 hours. We hoped it would do some good.

 Alexander Family, Wes, Trista, Tara & Kyler. Wes just left on Deployment

 Beautiful Thunderstorm clouds in Jacksonville

Light Show in Jacksonville

Week 23

Monday morning, we began our week driving to the Beach Community Kitchen located in the “Beach Church” on Jacksonville Beach and picked up some hot dogs for the USO. Joyce Schellhorn (Director) had met with a group of people last week who were in the business of helping those in need and arranged for the gift. We were very impressed with the kitchen’s programs. They fixed meals and delivered them to needy families in the beach areas. At the USO we took care of the meat and then Pam helped Cheryl Vandiver in the kitchen and I did projects for Joyce getting the facility set up for the “No Dough” dinner that evening. By 3:00 pm volunteers began to arrive and an hour later Pam and I left as they had plenty of help. We did a little shopping before arriving back at our apartment. Sister Redford and Ferguson came by in the evening and picked up a dressed Pam mended for Sister Redford.

Tuesday morning, I made some phone calls and then we drove to North Jacksonville to try and visit military members in the Dunn Avenue Ward area. We stopped at 5 homes that were out by the International Airport but only found one family home. We left cards at the others and hoped they would give us a call. I got one call back from an earlier phone call and this family had transferred to Virginia and also went through a divorce. The husband called me and gave me an update on his location and status. Back in our area we did a little shopping for food as we were hosting 2 full-time missionaries for a night. I moved my stuff out of the guest bathroom and we arranged the guest bedroom and made the beds. At 9:15 pm we drove to President & Sister Lee’s home and quietly joined the group of new missionaries as President Lee was welcoming them to the Florida Jacksonville Mission.  They (13) arrived in Jacksonville at 7:00 pm and came to the mission home and had dinner and then this meeting. Following President Lee, Sister Lee gave some instructions on filling out forms and signing a table cloth and quilt. It was an interesting project Sister Lee was undertaking. The missionaries also received phones and activated them and sent a picture and notification to their mother’s that they had arrived (very important). Finally, following an interview with President Lee they were ready to leave. We were assigned 2 sisters, Sister Quinton from Pocatello, Idaho and Sister Packer from Midway, Utah. They were very interesting girls, and both on their way to the Philippines and Jacksonville was a Visa wait location. We enjoyed visiting with them and got them situated and everyone to bed (about midnight).

Wednesday morning began bright and early for Pam and fixed some breakfast for the Sisters at 6:30 am. We ate, had prayers and then left for the Mandarin Chapel, about a 20-minute drive. Elder Whitehead met us in the parking lot and escorted the Sisters into the chapel where all the new missionaries met with President Lee and their new companions to be, and he made their assignments and away they went to their new areas. Back at our apartment we did some laundry and cleaning and after lunch made some visits in the Arlington Ward area to 4 homes that had once housed military families Out of 4 visits, we got info on 2 of them. One was transferred and one out of the Navy. In the evening Stephanie and Lance Jarvis (military family from the Jacksonville Beach Ward) stopped by to visit. A friend of theirs from Lance’s ship had died of heart problems and they were visiting his wife. They stayed for about 2 hours and we enjoyed their visit and getting to know them better.

Thursday morning, we left for the USO at 8:30 am and opened the facility and there was a goodly amount of bread and pastries to distribute. We tabulated the value and then opened it up to patrons. Pam ran the office and I went into the new storage room and boxed up 100 convenience packs and took them to the Naval Station Bowling Alley. They were having a promotion and Joyce Schellhorn (director) offered these gifts. Back at the USO I worked in the new storage room and got a lot of arranging and sorting done. Pam and I edited an article Charley Tramazzo was writing for a new “Pathfinder” program coming soon for transitioning military members.

Friday morning found us at the USO again at 10:00 am. Dave (new hire) had opened today and we visited for a while and then Pam went into the kitchen and did some work for Cheryl Vandiver for Monday’s “no dough” dinner. I hung pictures in the new Keiser University room by Charley’s office. Keiser “U” was the primary sponsor for the “Pathfinder” program. Charley was pleased with the pictures and then I spent the rest of the morning finishing a project in the tool room. Pam was helping with food preparation for Monday’s dinner and she supervised other volunteers. We left in the afternoon and took leftover bread to the Navy Exchange for their employees.  About 10:00 pm we got several texts from Jon Bryson from the Jacksonville beach ward inviting us to go boating with them the next day.  

Saturday morning we arrived at the Palm Cove Marina on Beach Blvd at 9:00 am and met the Bryson family, Jonathan, Charlene and their 7 year old daughter Amelia. Their boat was in the water and it was a beautiful 22-foot “Malibu” wakeboard inboard/outboard boat with a walkthrough front and seating for about a dozen people. We boarded and took on gas and then headed out into the intercoastal waterway. Every day we cross the waterway going to the Beach or back to our apartment and express an interest to each other about sailing along the various inlets. Today we got that chance. We headed south in the waterway and passed under the Beach Blvd and Butler bridges and continued south for an hour and a half. The views were beautiful. So many wonderful homes constructed along the waterway with private boat docking facilities and lifts to take their boats out of the water. Also, much protected areas which were marshland and inlets. We passed many boats coming and going and some were just cruising like us, but others were skiing, wake boarding and fishing. The weather was nice, and the overcast skies made for a pleasant day. We just couldn’t begin to imagine the amount of money that had been poured into a 40 mile stretch of the waterway with multimillion-dollar homes and facilities. We turned around about 5 miles north of St. Augustine and made the return trip back to the Marina. We said our goodbyes and thanks to the Bryson’s for their hospitality and the fun we had with them.

Sunday, we attended church at the Jacksonville Beach Ward. Tyler Gneck and Alexis Connelly were there as promised and came in their own vehicles, but the LaGae’s were not there. We enjoyed the block of meetings and following sacrament meeting got to meet Elder Roy (released the previous Monday) and his immediate family who were in Florida for a family reunion. Also, Sister Knudsen and Eberhard were settled in at the Beach and doing fine. We attended the gospel principles class and the Sisters guided the lesson. On the way to our apartment, Pam and I drove to the Alexander’s home (Wes and Tara) and they were just leaving for an afternoon activity with the kids. Wes talked in the Arlington Ward this morning and Tara said he did a great job. He leaves on deployment tomorrow or Tuesday, so we have promised to watch over his family. That’s the reality of military life—constant separations!

 Missionaries going Home

 Missionaries going Home at the beach (Mission tradition)

 New missionaries arriving at the airport

 New missionaries at the Mission Home with President & Sister Lee

 Scenes along the Inter-coastal Waterway

 On the Inter-coastal Waterway with the Brysons

 Amelia Bryson

 Home and docking facilities along the Inter-coastal Waterway

 Bridge across the Inter-coastal Waterway

 Condo's along the Inter-coastal Waterway

 Beautiful protected land along the Inter-coastal Waterway

 Beautiful protected land along the Inter-coastal Waterway

Pam, Charlene & Amela Bryson following our trip