I believe that I mentioned that we had 22 missionaries going home this week on Wednesday.  Well they left and Elder Wallace's father said he would take a picture of them when they arrived at the SLC airport because 16 were getting off there.  Here is the picture:

It brought a tear to my eye!  You can see the Elders on one side and the sisters on their other.  Their eyes tell the story of when they see their families.  There are also 2 elders in the middle on the stairs.  I think two were either already on the floor or stopped at the restroom because I could only count 14 and there were 16 that got on the plane!  Sister Hegstrom's mother said there was 4 planes that arrived in the SLC terminal and each plane had about 20 missionaries on it.  What a great day for these missionaries to arrive home after fulfilling a wonderful mission and giving their all!  I am sure our Heavenly Father was smiling also!

Merry Christmas

Last Saturday, our Ventura 1st ward mission leader, Brother Kay, Brother Foster and Sister Burrows (a recent convert), Elder Ruse and myself went to the LA Temple Visitors Center for a special Christmas concert and a tour of the Visitors Center.  This was the first time for Sister Burrows to go to the Temple grounds and she was so excited!  We were so grateful for this experience.  Two sister missionaries, one from Guatemala and one from Spain took a small group on a tour.  The new film about families is incredible!  They also showed us the "He is the Gift" video.  Here are pictures of our trip:

 

We took a picture of our assistants, Elder Bryson, Elder Lee and Elder Wallace because transfers are next week and Elder Wallace will be going home.  Change is always so hard!

 

Last night we were invited to dinner at Brother and Sister Nielsen's house and they had also invited Brother Rivera and Brother and Sister Lundgren.  Sister Rivera was out of town on a business trip.  While returning from Brother and Sister Nielsen's home - our odometer turned over 220,000 miles.  Therefore, before we left the apartment this morning, I took a picture to show!  2001 Toyota Highlander - it is the best.  We have to drive it until it absolutely dies, because we can't afford a new one.

I wish I would have taken a picture of Brother and Sister Nielsen's home.  It is up on a hill in Ventura and it is almost 100 years old.  They have every inch decorated - and it is amazing!  They even have walls in their kitchen that looks like marble - but it is plaster board - painted with a faux color and then shellacked.  The whole house is incredible!  It was a great night!

We recently were told that our monthly mission payment would be paid by our home ward.  I found myself in a couple of days of shock, quite humble and many thoughts going through my head.  I asked Elder Ruse - "how can we accept a gift like this?" - and he quoted the scripture, if you reject the gift, you reject the giver.  That is an amazing gift, because it isn't like it is just a couple of hundred dollars, but it is many, many hundred dollars.  How do you thank someone or many people for a gift like that?

I then realized that we all have been given a gift.  One that doesn't have a monetary value, but a value that is far greater than any of us can imagine.  It is the Gift that our Heavenly Father has given to everyone - The Gift of His Son, our Savior, our Redeemer.  How do I thank our Father for such a gift?  Of course, in my prayers - but also by the way I live my life.  By serving others, by keeping His commandments, by keeping the covenants that I have made, by sharing the Gospel with those who I come in contact with, by using the Atonement in my life to become better, to be forgiven of my sins, and to forgive others, by being concerned for their well being, and by enduring to the end!

I am so grateful for the gifts I have been given by a very loving Heavenly Father who gave His only begotten son, so that I can return to live with Him again.  As a parent, I have a very small idea of what that desire feels like for all of my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren.

So, how do we thank our ward for the gift they have given us?  By serving to the best of our ability.  By serving the people here in the California Ventura Mission.  By serving the missionaries and President Felix and his wife and doing the very best that we can do.  When we return home, we will continue to serve to the best of our ability.

Merry Christmas -

Also in November, we had 4 zone conferences - one in Santa Maria, one in Thousand Oaks, one in Camarillo and one in Ventura.  It is quite an ordeal to get all of that organized and to make sure that the Stakes remember!  We are so grateful for the support of all 8 stakes.  Each stake is assigned 2 zone conferences per year.  The Stakes ask the wards to provide lunch for the missionaries and the mission sends a check to the Stake President to cover the cost.  Each zone conference has 2 zones attend - so there are about 80 missionaries at each zone conference  The wards always do wonderful luncheons.  This year, the Spanish Branch in Ventura did the zone lunch for Ventura Stake and they really went the extra mile.  They decorated - had wonderful food and the spirit was very strong there.  They really put their heart and soul in providing lunch for the missionaries.  They even served the missionaries, used dishes that had to be washed and cleaned everything up!

After lunch, the missionaries always sing to the sisters who make the meal and it ALWAYS makes us cry.

In Utah Valley, we don't have that opportunity because there are so many stakes and so many wards.  We are really missing out on a wonderful experience.  I have decided when we return, we are going to do a better job of making sure that we take advantage of every opportunity to be of service!  We also are so spoiled in the fact that it takes 10-15 minutes to drive to the Temple.  Here it is an all day experience to drive 2 hours and drive home 2 hours.  We are sooooo spoiled in Utah Valley.  I have such a deep appreciation for the people living here.

Well - it is now December 4th - and I can't believe it.  We have 22 missionaries leaving on the 17th of December.  I think there are 17 going to SLC!  Wouldn't you love to be in the terminal to watch that!

In January, we have 17 going home.  I love doing the travel for the missionaries going home.  It requires lots of work to get it all done - but it is my favorite part.  It is that organization thing!

We missed Emma's birthday in November - and we know she had a great one.  The baby is growing - and still unnamed.  We are anxiously waiting.  As soon as we hear from Rich, our plan is to get permission so that we can drive straight to the hospital.  Hopefully, "cookie" (that is what they call him) will come on a Friday so that we have a long weekend to hold him!

We have 93 more days until March 7th - but who is counting????

We received a call from Jamie Gardner from our ward in Lindon and she said they were just getting on the plane to come to Ventura and they wanted to meet us for dinner on Saturday night - during Fall break.  It was the first Sunday in October.  Anyway, she said they were flying into LA and they would be in Oxnard.  I knew that the traffic is horrible in LA - but we soon heard from them and we were right the traffic was to bad to meet them.  So we went to Church on Sunday morning and just as Church was starting - I looked at the door and there were the Gardners and about 20 other people!

 It was so good to see them!  It was wonderful to see someone from home.  They didn't know that we were attending the Ventura ward and they were really surprised.  It was a great day!  We met the next night at McConnells for ice cream and the treat was on Ryan!  We loved seeing the Gardners and see how big the kids have become.

Also, in October, our niece Megan was getting married and everyone combined their resources and we rented a house in San Clemente!  It was so much fun.  Here is Kenzie getting her nails done.  Ellie and Ava are below.  Ava was so funny, she wouldn't move her hands.  Later that day, they went to the beach and played in the sand and all of their polish wore off!  Kenzie and Ellie were both in the wedding.  It was such a wonderful trip and so much fun!  I will have to find my camera to locate pictures of the BRIDE!  Jana (the mother of the bride) and Megan both looked beautiful!  It was a very special weekend.

Here is the view of the beach from the house we rented in San Clemente.  You can see all the kids down there on the beach if you look hard enough.  The only problem was that there is a train that goes from San Diego up the coast - about every 30 minutes - until about 10:30 at night and then starts again about 5:30 a.m.

Then my cousin, Launa and her husband Reece returned from their mission to the London England Temple on the 17th of October and they came to see us the first part of November. Our 2nd bedroom comes in handy - we wish we had someone there every weekend!  It was so good to see them and hear about their mission.  Of course, they have had a very different experience than what we have had.  They are all good experiences on a senior mission - just different.  Everyone is needed.  We took them on the electric boats to see the sea lions and of course the sea lions were putting on a great show.  This time they were basking in the sun on a deck instead of being in the water.  Here is Launa trying to get a picture of them.

We took Launa and Reece up to the Cross at Ventura and showed them they entire valley from the mountain to the south and all of the fields behind the cross.  It is a beautiful view.  Here we are - it is hard to believe that their mission is over and ours seems to be going by faster!



We always say that the days are so long - but the months seem to be flying by.  I am sorry that I haven't posted sooner!  December proves to be a very busy month!  We started the month of December with wishing Andy a Happy 42nd Birthday!  I just can't believe that - but it is true.

We also did the lunch for MLC - which is for 43 people.  Elder Ruse and I did stew and told the Assistants to pray for rain (hasn't rained in over a year) (we decided this on Thursday and MLC is the next Tuesday).  Well - those Elders can certainly pray because it was down-pouring on Tuesday and then we worried for the safety of all the missionaries coming to Oxnard for the meeting.  We are so grateful when prayers of safety are answered.