Loading up the wagon, hitching up the team, saying our goodbys!

      That's kind of what it feels like this week. The trunk of the car is crammed full, won't take another item. Next the back seats will get folded down and that area gets filled up! If that doesn't hold it all then I strap Sherrie onto the top of the car so I can put things in her seat. We've been saying our goodbys all this week and then the big farewell party in the Marshallese Branch for us will be on Friday night. Amy, Alph and family will be here for the party also. The members of the branch are doing a lot of whispering amongst themselves, so it should be fun! We've heard that they may be making a matching dress for Sherrie and a shirt for me. Perfect for the Hawaii trip!
      As with most similar situations, when someone has been living somewhere for a while and then decides to leave, you don't realize how many friendships you've established until people come up to you as you are going out the door. We've had some sweet experiences these last few days as we prepare to leave. Memories that we will remember forever. We've given out a lot of cards with our email and home address as well as phone numbers. Sounds like a lot of people will be coming our way in the future. Plus, we will be coming back at times when we visit with Amy and family and drive an hour to come up here and say hi.
      One of the three young women that we have helped get ready for their missions, has all of her paperwork done and just needs a final interview with the Stake President. We will be anxious to hear in a few weeks where she will be called to serve. The second young woman will follow soon and the third one will submit her paperwork when she is done with her semester of college in June. Helping these three has truly been one of the biggest highlights of our mission.
     I've said this earlier at the beginning of our mission, but this time together as a couple has been a great experience for us both. Our mission has drawn us even closer together. And of course it goes without saying that our love for our Savior has grown by leaps and bounds.
     To our family and friends outside of California we are anxious to see you soon, yet at the same time not so anxious to leave Amy and family, but that's part of life, and our family will all be together later this summer for a reunion in Missouri.
     My feelings in a nutshell about our mission can be best expressed in a quote by David S. Baxter

"I have found that service [serving a mission] does something to you. It changes perspective; it stretches the soul; it refreshes and uplifts; it elevates our thinking and our feelings; it draws us closer to the Savior, who spends all of his time in selfless service to Heavenly Father and all of his children".

Love ya,

John and Sherrie

The Twelve Days remaining of our Mission

     That seems surreal to say that. It seems only yesterday that we arrived and started our mission 18 months ago. My journal is overflowing of all that we have experienced while here in Sacramento California. Yesterday we gave our farewell talks in the Marshallese Branch and this coming Friday the Branch is having a social for us. We hear they have worked up some great island dances that the Marshallese do so well. Amy, Alph and kids will be coming to the party also. Should be fun.
    Yesterday we also had three young adult sisters from the Marshallese branch come to our apartment so that we could help them complete their applications and paperwork to go on missions for the church. This has been such a neat experience for us to be able to help them get ready. They never would have gotten to this point without the loving persistence that Sherrie has put forth to help them. At the normal "islander pace" which most of the families go by, these beautiful daughters of our Heavenly Father would have never got it done.  The Church's on-line application is one big step, but the doctors and dentist appointments have been a big, big process. One LDS dentist who presently has a son on a mission now, gave up one of his days off to provide the necessary dental care for one of the young women. His kindness truly touched our hearts. This will be the first Marshallese members from this branch that have ever served missions! Such a blessing for the branch.
     I just had my 69th birthday today. Wow, where did the time go? I still remember many events of my young days as a child. That's a good sign isn't it! Now if I could just remember my wife's name I'd have it made!
     I've been in contact with the military base in Hawaii today, lining up where we will stay and the events to cram into the seven days that we will be there February 24 - March 4. Then hopefully by March 5 there will be good signs of spring weather as we start driving home.  If not, I'll be trying to keep the steering wheel away from Sherrie because she'll want to turn around until it gets better! Not true, we'll make it!

See ya,

John

It has been almost 3 weeks since blogging successfully.  Our laptop has a mind of its own and I had blogged a lovely blog last week, hit the "save" button and it disappeared!  I simply did not have the courage to try it again last week so here we are again, hopefully with better luck.We are down to 3 weeks to go before the end of our mission.  Our last day will be February 21st then we will back up on Saturday the 22nd, head to Amy's for the weekend and hopefully be able to fly out on Monday to Hawaii for 7 days.  We are really hoping the winter weather will be ending before we head home so we won't have the opportunity to slip and slide our way to Missouri.  I'm so grateful that John has taken the time to enrich our mission time by checking out all the cultural events that are available in the Sacramento area.  For Christmas, our gifts to each other were tickets to an incredible musical production called "Shen Yun" that was presented a few weeks ago.  It is a musical story of Chinese history through the centuries.  The music, dancing, scenery and costumes were remarkable.  The Chinese government will not let it be produced in China because it tells stories of a part of the history of China that the current government does not want their people to be told about.  Our friends, the Wades, who are serving a service mission in our Marshallese Branch took us to supper in a little town that had the best prime tip roast I have ever had and then took us to a delightful musical mystery called "Something's Afoot."  It was in a renovated old opera house where every seat was really close to the stage so you could hear every word.  We love the Wade's so much and are so thankful that they chose to serve their service mission here in our Marshallese Branch.  They are really wonderful folks and we have learned so much from them!!  A "service mission" is really a great way to serve since you can live in your own home and still serve a mission.  I think that is something we will look into when we get home.  Another couple that were in one of our marriage classes in Sacramento 1st Ward, Skip and Char Wolfinden, also took us to supper at another little town closeby at a local "bar" which when we first entered, went"hmmmmmm" interesting.  The waitress took us back through the bar and we found ourselves in a quaint, lovely part of the restaurant.  The food was so yummy!  We then went to a tiny, little neighborhood theater in Midtown Sacramento called the "Thistle Dew Theater".  It was in the basement of a very old Victorian home and was really a unique experience.  For $10.00 we got to see an "original" play,  have a luscious dessert, and be part of a very unique "radio theater".  The play was definitely an "original one of a kind" sort, the dessert indeed was delicious, and our friends were a joy to be with.  Last week we went with 30 other "senior missionaries" and watched BYU'a "Legends" performance.  Most of the missionaries had seen it before but first time for us.  All the performers were from the Pacific Islands and did native dances and singing.  A wonderful night for all.  Now realize, dear reader, that these events were stretched over a month of time.  I don't want anyone to think we are here just having fun.  :)  We are in a serious drought in California and have been fasting for rain to come.  While we were in church today the rain began to come forth.  We hope and pray that it will continue for some time because there has been little snow in the mountains and zero rain.  Everything is really drying up and everyone is really worried.  We watch the weather in Missouri and just get goosebumps looking at the temperatures.  We are so grateful that Chris and Julie are caring for our home and watching out for frozen pipes.  They will be leaving for Utah to live soon after we arrive home.  We will miss them so but know that this is important for them to do.  Most of our time has been spent helping three Marshallese young women to get ready to serve a mission soon.  We are helping them fill out their paper work and get their medical and dental work done.  We hope and pray we can get almost all their final work done before we go so all they will have to do is wait for their mission call.  This will be the first time that someone from the Marshallese Branch has gone on a mission so it is a wonderful thing.  They have many challenges ahead of them but I know The Lord will bless them and give them the strength and guidance they need to meet those challenges.  We are finishing up "New Member" lessons as well as training someone to take over my Sunday School and English classes.   We have done a lot of work in teaching the Saints about church assistance and how to use it wisely.  We have found that "people are still people", no matter what nationality, when it comes to difficult decisions between "wants and needs."   We just completed reading together Clay Christensen's "Infinite Atonement".  I believe studying this book together has become one of the greatest blessings of our mission.  It is always so humbling to realize how little we know and how much there is for us to learn to become more Christlike and to truly appreciate the incredible gift of the Atonement.  The Sacramento Temple is only 30 minutes away from us so we have the privilege of going to the temple almost every week.  We saw the new temple video this past week and it deeply touched our souls.  I have begun to realize that the decision Eve made in the garden was not done lightly and she understood the importance of her decision.  What a powerful teaching tool that video is!  How grateful I am that we have able to serve a mission so close to a temple of The Lord.  We spoke with some of our family tonight and we are beginning to yearn to be with them again.  We are where we are suppose to be but look forward to returning home soon.