January 1 to January 20, 2013

January 19, 2013

Wait a minute!!! Is that a palm tree in Toronto?

Isn't that the Los Angeles Temple?

Is that date right?

To those of you who haven't heard or only heard bits and pieces, this blog is for you.  

We have been reassigned to the California Arcadia Mission as an office couple.  Stan is over the cars and I do the mail/referrals/bikes/supplies.

Our phones are working now that we are in the US.  435-669-6246, 435-669-2245 Our mailing address at the Mission Office is:  170 W. Duarte Road, Arcadia, California  91007

Last blog I was complaining that we couldn't find a solution to our auto insurance dilemma.  Well, we took it to our mission president, who took it to the Mission Dept in SL.  They have far more to worry about with all these young people signing up for service than the troubles of an older couple who should be able to take care of themselves.J  We were told that as they were considering our problem, Pres. Becerra of the CA Arcadia mission put in an SOS for an office couple.  So we now have auto insurance and Pres Becerra has his office couple--  answers to two prayers.  He needed us ASAP so we took a couple of days to tie up some things in Toronto and say good-bye to people we truly grew to love in a short two months.  On Mon afternoon, Jan 7, we headed SOUTH to Nashville then WEST along the old Route 66 (Now I 40). 

That's it in a nutshell.  We had many tender mercies along the way.  What follows is mostly Stan's daily updates to the family and the pictures along the way.  We went to 2 states that we've never been to and saw 7 temples (4 we hadn't seen before) all in 4 1/2 days. (We didn't realize that Detroit had one until we were past there or we would have seen 1 more new one.) 

January 7, 2013
 "From the home of the Bowling Green State University Falcons we are spending our first night in the USA after a most memorable day.  Leaving Toronto required a lot of knot tying today, including updating our Bulletin Board.

But let's list a few wonderful things.

1.  I called the mission office in Arcadia and an Elder Olsen says, "I think my wife knows your family."  The wife of the couple we are replacing is Nancy Goodfellow Olsen.  She is the daughter of Riley and Melba Goodfellow, best friends of Melba and Jared in Bountiful.  I remember going to their house and playing with their son Riley who is my age.  It was fun to talk to Nancy and catch up on their family.  The Olsens are returning home to Draper next week and plan to visit grandma in Atria.  Julie, I'm sure you will remember the Goodfellows.  When Nancy was 8 she was badly burned, miracle to be alive according to her, with a gasoline fire.  Before I talked to her I asked her husband if it was his wife that had the terrible accident.

2.  Yesterday we attended a beautiful memorial for a sister Dorothy Davies who is a legend in the Church in the Toronto Area.  President Monson has talked about the Davies in his talks.  This morning Brother Davies passed away in a care center where he has been the last three years with alzheimers.  They are reunited.  95 years old.

3.  When we arrived at Bowling Green tonight we check in went to our room and immediately had an email from Cynthia - So the couple that worked so hard to conceive has now received four wonderful girls and a BOY is on the way in May."

January 8, 2013

" When we left Bowling Green this morning it was 32 and when we got to Louisville it was 55 and stayed in the mid fifties the rest of the day.

So we are here in Nashville tonight.  We made stops at the Louisville Temple and the Nashville Temple.  Beautiful temples and in gorgeous landscapes.  We loved the rolling hills of Kentucky.

  So, can we tell the difference between a coincidence and a tender mercy?

On the one hand we are sleeping in Nashville on Elvis's birthday.  That would be a coincidence.

On the other hand we are in the church parking lot next to the temple in Louisville and a gentleman approaches the car in his leathers.  His riding partner on the Victory Bike had a scarf over her face.  So I roll down the window not knowing what to expect.  And after a few questions, Mr. Semper Fidelis Philip B. Cease Jr. began to unravel some amazing connections.  So, where do I start?  He knew Pres. Nielsen from Bloomington when he was President of the Kentucky Louisville Mission.  He activated a girl in Louisville who is now attending Dixie State.  He grew up in the Arcadia California Mission and knows the area like the back of his hand.  Woodrow Wilson Jr. High School, lived right above the school.  Lived 5 years in Vegas.  Marine master sergeant retired.

Louisville Kentucky Temple

Oh, did I mention that the Temple is located in Crestwood.  That's just for you Crestwood Cougars.

  I guess we can run, drive, or fly but we just can't hide.

Our visit to the Louisville Cardinal Campus was really eye opening.  Their athletic facilities are second to none.  A lot of Kentucky horse money has been pumped into this beautiful campus.

  And if you haven't watched the Piano Guys latest on YouTube do yourself a favor and watch Mission Impossible.  Filmed in St. George at Holland Centennial Commons, Stephen Wade Chevy Cadillac, and a restaurant.

Eating KFC in Kentucky

  The time went fast driving today with so many things happening.  Traveling used to be a bit boring.  There is something special about eating the variety pack at KFC when you are in Kentucky.  Jared won that little guessing game.  Gas at COSTCO and dinner at Panera Bread. TMI - sorry..."

Nashville Tennessee Temple at night

Stayed in Nashville Tue night.

January 9, 2013
Headed west through Tenn to Memphis, then through Arkansas on Wed.  Rained and blew all day.  We learned when we got to CA there was a tornado around here somewhere the day we were here.

Memphis Tennessee Temple  

Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple

Made it to Oklahoma City--long day of driving.  We ate at Braum's and thought about picking up Jared 12 years ago from his mission.










January 10, 2013

Albuquerque New Mexico Temple

After the rolling hills of Kentucky and Tennessee and green of Arkansas the 'beautiful' land we gave the Native Americans in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona was depressing.  We finally made it to Albuquerque to the beautiful temple there.








We looked at the weather forecast for Flagstaff since that was our goal for the night and saw snow, snow, snow.  We decided to turn south at Holbrook and stayed at Snowflake.

Snowflake Arizona Temple

"This is our sixth temple stop on the trip.  It is a very cold night and should snow later.

We make the last leg to Arcadia tomorrow."

January 11,2013
Despite our plan, we woke up to snow in Snowflake.  The roads were a little scary for awhile, but the further SW we drove the better the roads.

Gilbert Arizona Temple (under const)

"After the long journey we are now at the Stay America for one week before we move into our apartment, the couple we are replacing leave next Thursday.

  The Gilbert Temple is just spectacular.  It is an amazing achievement in design and construction.  Okland Construction built the temple.

  We attended a dinner and meeting with all the senior couples and our new mission president, President Becerra. We are excited about being in this area and learned a lot about the missionary work in the area.

  Thanks for all your love and support.  How about Sarah's call to the Ukraine, Kiev mission.  She will be terrific and learning Japanese will help greatly in learning Russian.

  We opened a Christmas package from Ken today, two beautiful warm scarfs.  We will have to put them away until we return home to the cold.  Thanks Ken, they are beautiful."

January 12, 2013

"We used our Pday to watch Dixie State beat the Azusa Pacific Cougars 85 to 57.  This monster dunk was one of two alley oop passes within about a two minute span.  Zach is only a sophomore and is recently back from his mission, engaged to a girl he has known since he was seven. He is 6'9" and she might be 5' 2".  Zach's family lives in Upland and I think they brought the entire ward down to the game.  The family was having so much fun after the game, in the middle of the court.  I was introduced to Zach's grandpa and grandma who live in West Covina, part of our mission.

  We go to our new ward Duarte tomorrow. 

  Took a four mile walk this morning."  

January 13, 2013

"We thoroughly enjoyed our first Sunday in the Arcadia Mission.  The Olsens, couple we are replacing, picked us up for Church, 10am (one ward in a beautiful chapel with a pipe organ).  We also gave a ride to a young Elder

Duarte Chapel

because he and his companionship rotate between two wards.

  The ward is small and aging.  Like much of Southern California these wards have exported many Saints to Utah and elsewhere.  Just today the former Bishop announced he was moving to an Island off the coast of Washington and another man said he was moving to Kayenta near Ivins.  This has been happening for years now and where once these beautiful chapels had two and three wards now one small ward fills the building with their spirits.

   There are also a number of widows and single sisters in the ward.  They were all so warm and friendly and the talks were good--like you would hear anywhere in the church.  I liked the sister who taught the Gospel Principles class because she was a Dixie Girl! Yup, attended Dixie in the late 80's and loved it.  Afterwards she worked for People Magazine, Sports Illustrated and others.  When she had her first child she gave it all up to be a stay at home mom.

  Well the High Priests Quorum was a High Priest Quorum, good men, lots of seasoning, and prone to take the occasional diversion from the lesson.  The teacher was a retired math teacher and tried desperately to keep us on track.

  After church we went to the Olsens for lunch.  We took the salad and they cooked the soup.  We were very happy to meet our new apartment and learn that it had a washer and dryer and a disposal.  It has two bedrooms and a sizeable living room.  We can host you when you come to visit.  Parking is very limited, one visitor space.  If I told you that the bathroom tile is a marine green and the air conditioner was a wall unit you would get a feel for the age of the apartments, cul de sac condos.  It is only a few blocks from the mission office and the golf course with a lighted driving range.

  The Olsens are a great couple and have lots of grandkids awaiting their return.  Brother Olsen was a contractor who suffered some major loses that ended his business because of union problems and legal costs.  It was fun talking to him about all the projects he worked on, including the IHC hospital in St. George and the Tuachan Facility.

  After lunch we went to Orangewood for a baptism.  A mother of six was seeing her last child join the church.  It was a very emotional and happy family experience.  This young sister bore her testimony and shared her conversion story.

  Tonight we attended a most extraordinary testimony meeting.  About 18 elders, sisters and two couples are going home on Tuesday.  They all bore their testimonies and shared their love for the mission and the people.  The amazing part was that the stake center was almost filled with well wishers, ward members, converts and perhaps investigators.  Sister Plewe and I gave the opening and closing prayers.  We heard testimonies in three languages, they teach in five.  President Becerra spoke in both Spanish and English.

  We can tell that our days in Arcadia will be experience rich and spiritually full.

  We wish you all blessings to fill your baskets and love to share your blessings."

January 14, 2013
"How was your Monday.  Monday is Pday for the Elders and Sisters in the Arcadia Mission.  We worked in the office and trained on our new positions.  I took a trip to Longo Toyota, Largest Toyota dealer in the US.  They sold 28,000 cars in one month a few years ago.  They are down to 18,000 now.  Also made a trip to a collision center and Helen's Cycle shop to pick up a bike for an incoming sister.

  Elders and sisters were in and out of the office all day; getting mail, going home interviews with the President, washing cars, playing basketball, and enjoying a bit of a day off.

  I introduced myself to one Elder whose name is Jacob Allan Laidlaw.  His grandpa was a former Dean at Dixie State, Allan Laidlaw.  But wait, Jacob is in Kevin and Stacy's ward and grew up looking for lizards with Todd.  He has a lot of respect for Todd.  Also, for you Red Cliff 9th members, his brother and sister-in-law are Jeremy and Kim Laidlaw who used to live in Millcreek.

  Just as we were leaving the office tonight I was handed the phone by Nancy Goodfellow Olsen.  Her brother Riley was on the other end of the phone from Mesa, Arizona.  Last time I played with Riley was 1951.  He remembered our last time playing in our garage in Bountiful.  It said we were playing Hop Along Cassidy, the super hero of the day.

  We were invited to dinner with another office couple, the Kastelers.  At the restaurant it came up that they were from Olympus.  They went to the same school as Barb, Olympus Jr. and Olympus High School.  Not so fast, I asked them if they knew Steve Scott.  Elder Kasteler's jaw dropped.  Some of their best friends.  Elder Kasteler was a counselor to Steve for 10 years in the Stake Presidency.  When we got in the car Elder Kasteler telephoned Steve and Carol Dean and we had a great conversation.  Elder Kasteler says he always borrows tools from Carol Dean.  She told me what her current construction project is but I can't remember.

  The array of Elders and Sisters is amazing.  Everything from an Elder whose parents are in the penitentiary to the one from Liberia Africa and another from New Hampshire.  Some are the only member of their family who belong to the church.  Some have families just like ours.  Some don't know who their parents are and were raised by grandma.  One Elder has been on his own since he was fifteen.  For many of these young people to end up on missions in the service of the Master is simply miraculous.  I see their pre-mission photos and I can't believe it is the same person.

  One Elder who is going home commented last night that the life he helped save the most was his own.  Probably true for a lot of missionaries.

  Mom learned the ropes today and will really enjoy doing the referrals, mail, bicycles, and purchasing.  She will have a frequent trip to Costco and the 99 Cent Store.

  It was a wonderful day and so lifting to see so much good."

January 19, 2013

 "Started p-day out with a 2.5 mile walk around the golf course and followed it up with a car wash at the mission office.  By now I was tired and ready for a nap.

  The car looked so good after washing off all the Toronto salt that I thought I better hit Pep Boys for an oil change.  We unloaded more stuff at the new apartment that is being painted and then back to the hotel to get ready for a temple excursion.

  Is there a good time to head into LA?  I don't think the Temple operates during those hours.  It was a beautiful day and we went through some interesting communities, mostly Chinese and Korean.  We ended up on the Santa Monica Freeway and made it to the temple a little late for the chapel session for the Arcadia Stake.

  At the counter we met brother Weber.  Brother Weber sees the Plewe name and tells Barbara that his son married a Plewe.  Yup, Steve Plewe's daughter Katherine married his son Kip.  Brother Weber was the YSA Bishop in Glendale and was Katherine's Bishop.  Bishop Weber's son came home from a mission and yup he took a liking to Katherine.  If anyone has Steve's email I would appreciate you forwarding this greeting from Brother Weber.

  The LA Temple is just an incredible building.  After being in many of the normal sized temples the LA Temple just seems very very large and unique.

  After the session we were heading to a baptism at a Spanish Ward in East LA.  The journey there left me with a very complex attitude about LA.  We traveled 20 miles without being on a freeway.  I never realized how long Wilshire Boulevard reached.  We started on Santa Monica Boulevard after leaving the temple and soon we were on Wilshire and traveling through Beverly Hills.  It felt like Beverly Hills as we passed the Rolls Royce and Porsche dealerships.  Lots of fancy shops and elite eating establishments.  Through the high rises of downtown LA we quickly saw homeless lining both sides of the streets.  A few tents adorned the sidewalks in each block and soup kitchens and food trucks seemed to be on every corner.  It was dark and things seemed surreal.  The landscape gradually changed for the better and we were soon in Korean Country.  Without a break of open land the seamless neighborhoods change dramatically in character.  We were late for the baptism in Belvedere and excited as the Spanish influence in the stores, restaurants, and sidewalk vendors began to appear.  Spanish lights, signage, and cars welcomed us to a low income but safe feeling part of Wilshire Boulevard.  We turned onto McDonnell and listened for the GPS sister to tell us the exact location of the Chapel.  The street was dark, narrow, lined on both sides with cars and home to very modest homes.  We didn't see the Chapel and soon our GPS sister told us to make a U turn.  I was about to leave the neighborhood and Barbara said to go back.  I went around several blocks and came back to the same entry point as before.  This time we looked for the numbers and suddenly we could see on the right, behind a high fence nestled tightly to its neighbors was a very small chapel, likely bought from the Catholic Church.  We turned into the gate and found one spot among the 20 parking stalls.  We entered 30 minutes late but quickly learned from the Elders that the baptism was starting late to our happy surprise.  The half court carpeted gym with one basket was busy with members young and old.

  We enjoyed a Spanish language baptism service for a 12 year old boy.  The boy had attended church for some years but his divorced mother couldn't get the father's permission for the baptism.  The boy was baptized by this grandfather and the father was there to congratulate the young boy.  I was impressed when I congratulated him by his maturity.  The elders seemed to speak great Spanish in their talks.  One elder sang a solo in Spanish and the opening hymn was  "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".  The baptismal font was in a small added and remodeled room.  Even in these humble circumstances the baptism was identical to all the rest we have witnessed.  The families, the members and the elders were as happy and rejoiced as I ever remember.

  We asked an elder where he liked to eat around the area.  His response told us everything about the Elders' love for the people.  "We love to eat at the members' houses.

  I told the young boy who was baptized that I hoped his big goal would be to go to the temple only 20 miles up the road.  So much between him and the temple but he will have a path much easier than many and more likely than most.  

I hope we are all among the helping hands to lift our young people to the best chances for a great life.

  We are loving LA."  

January 20, 2013 

"I sat by a Chemistry school teacher today in Priesthood.  Fun exchange and a bright young man. Met our Stake President at our ward today.  He is a local principal in Covina.  A very quiet and solid leader.  He spent some time talking with us after church and impressed me a lot. Our Bishop is a teacher as well.

We are still in the Stay America.  Went by the apartment today to check the progress and the painter and his wife were working away. 

Just before we went to a baptism in Glendale I decided to call an old BYU friend Gary Goold, lives in Highland, because he spent most of his life in the Glendale area, LaCanada.  I asked Gary if there was anyone he would like us to check on from his old neighborhood.  He said, "Where are you?"  When I said we were in the Arcadia Mission serving in the Mission Office he became very excited.  They went home from serving in the Arcadia mission office 1.5 years ago.  They were over housing.  I just keep stepping on people's pasts or their pasts are part of our future.

The YSA baptism was great.  The beautiful Glendale chapel has a three level parking garage.  The ward fills the entire chapel on Sundays according to a member of the Bishopric who has umpired Dixie baseball games.  The students and young professionals looked very in tune and with it.

As we left the baptism I got a call on my Car Czar phone.  An elder had just been hit on his bicycle by a stop sign runner.  Fortunately he was only about five miles from the baptism and we were able to go over and check him out.  He is fine but bruised and scratch.  The bicycle didn't fare so well.  The elder only has two months to go on his mission."

Weather is great.  The work is better.  And my companion is the BEST!

  

We have arrived! Nov 12-Nov 30

After a wonderful 5 days at the MTC we set out for Toronto on Fri, with the threat of snow in SL.  We were pleasantly surprised that the further east we drove the better the weather was.  We arrived at Omaha, at my brother, Lenny and Norene's on Sat evening and enjoyed staying with them for two nights and attending their branch with them on Sunday.  Lenny showed us the church sites in the area.  They are enjoying their mission, except for Norene's struggle taking chemo, but she hopes to be getting stronger soon and has great faith that all this will pass.

 We got up really early Monday and made it across the Canadian border from Detroit at Windsor, ON, CA and stayed the night.  Then Tue, we took our time driving to Toronto and visited several chapels on the way so we could get a feel for the saints in Canada.  We also visited Point Pelee National Park which is the southernmost tip of Canada on Lake Erie, and walked out as far as we could on a sand bar.



We're settled into our 1 bedroom apartment, a 1st floor apartment in a high rise apartment building. It's only 5 min from our office in the Brampton Stake Center which is right next to the Toronto Temple.  The location is great.  There is a small lake behind us that I have run around a few times.  As it gets colder and darker in the morning, I'm not sure I can do it any more.  There is an exercise room in our building, but it's currently under repair.  That will be great when it is ready.  The thing we really like is the underground parking so we don't have to go out in the cold and snow or have a frozen car.
The weather was nice the first few days we were here (abt 50-55 degrees F) but has turned cold (abt 30-35 degrees F).  It snowed once last week, but didn't leave more than a skiff on the ground for part of a day.  It's supposed to snow tonight, so we'll see what winter brings.
We're still getting a feel for what we'll be doing here.  We're having a big meeting on Sat with PA people from SL and Washington DC (Marcus Faust, Pres Faust's son, who I grew up with except he was younger so I don't remember him too much.) Also Area Authorities from 3 areas that include Canada, and the DPA's from all the provinces in Canada.  They have just organized Canada into it's own Public Affairs area, called CPAC (Canada Public Affairs Council).  We are on that Council and will be helping the CPAC Director, Sandra Pallin however we can.  We will also help the newly called Ontario/Eastern Provinces Director.  We haven't met him yet, but will on Sat.  We'll be having a meeting with the Ontario council on Sunday to include all the Stake PA Committees in Ontario.  We're really glad we got here in time for these meetings because we really need to know all these people and this is a great opportunity for us.
We've been to a couple of district meetings and are inspired and energized by meeting with the young missionaries.  They're expecting about 30 new missionaries in January.  They're scrambling to get apartments and cars and trainers for them all.  3 new couples are arriving in Dec. so we won't be the new kids on the block for long. The mission is growing and we're glad to be a part of it.
The gospel is true.  Shout it out loud and clear.
We love and miss all of you.

Preparation: Sep 1 to Nov 11

To say we were excited with our call to Toronto, Canada as Public Affairs missionaries is an understatement.

We had prepared ourselves for a Humanitarian mission to some third world country and were getting excited about that call.  Instead, the Lord has us going to the big city of Toronto to work with the Public Affairs director over all of Canada.  Wow!!
We attended a Public Affairs training on Sep 11,12 in Salt Lake.  We were trained with couples going to India, Congo, Phillipines, Thailand, Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Australia, and England.  Toronto sounded terrific for us.  We learned the Public Affairs  program in general and were told what we did would be up to our director.  Our director is Sandra Pallin and we are excited to work with her.
Now we are busy making a list and checking it twice.  We've checked alot off but have much to do.