Playing Santa to the Young Missionaries

Christmas Eve the senior missionaries arrived at the mission office in Oakland shortly after noon. We were to deliver the mail and packages to the young missionaries that afternoon and evening.  There are three senior couples on the Peninsula to deliver to about 18 apartments.  Tom and I and the Sorensons each filled our cars with packages and headed to our apartment to start the sorting process. Thank goodness Sister Lyman at the mission office had separated the mail and packages that needed to go to the missionaries on the Peninsula. Our job was to do the fine sorting....a separate pile for each apartment. When that was accomplished we bagged and labled each pile.  Then the Leavitts came to our apartment and we divided the bags according to our area on the Peninsula...Leavitts-downtown, Johnsons-the center and the Sorensons to the south.  It proved to be quite difficult to coordinate with the missionaries when they would be home to receive their packages and this is not an area where you could leave them on a doorstep. We took a break from 5:00 PM until 6:30 PM to Skype our grandchildren and join with them as they presented the Christmas Story.  It was so fulfilling to see and hear each of them!! It made my Christmas!!! We ended the evening delivering more packages. There was little time to be homesick and that was a good thing.

English Class Christmas Party

We have such a good time with our Chinese students.  They are so appreciative of the opportunity to have free English classes and they work together so well.  To our surprise they pooled their money and presented us with $100.00 at the party. We'd like to buy something "very Chinese" to place on our mantle at home to remember the warm and wonderful time we have shared with them. Looks like we'll need to go shopping in Chinatown.

This is the message they printed in our card. "Thank you for helping us learn English. Thanks God let us get together.  Best wishes to you and your family. Merry Christmas & Happy new Year."
As you can tell, their English still needs a little work, but doesn't that just melt your heart.

Theresa (in the black and white coat), Hoa (wearing the burgundy sweatshirt) and Elder Luo (tall Chinese elder on the right) all flew to China yesterday, the 28th.  Fortunately,they were all on the same flight to Beijing. Theresa and Hoa will return to school in the US after Chinese New Year. Elder Luo has completed an excellent mission. He'll be attending BYU in Provo spring semester.

Then there was the food! Atleast twenty different dishes, all very tasty. Of course, there was a whole roasted pig. On Saturday we attended the birthday party of a lady who turned 73 and was retiring the end of this year. This time, not quite twenty different dishes, but the center feature was another roasted pig. Both were very elaborate, expensive parties. Too my surprise, the bride and groom were at church on Sunday.  I guess no honeymoon, to them the party was more important.

Filipino Festivities

Last weekend we celebrated with the Filipinos we work with. Friday the 3rd was the wedding and reception for Pierre and Venus. We arrived at the temple in Oakland to find the mothers of both the bride and groom dressed as fancy as the bride herself. Each mother wore a long off-white heavily embroidered dress. They each had their hair done in an updo and their nails complete with a French manicure. Both were laden with beautiful pearls. As for me, I was wearing regular missionary clothes...skirt, blazer and plain black shoes. I quickly realized I needed to be more dressed up for the reception. Even the men had on traditional Filipino off-white shirts that were also heavily embroidered.

The only "special occasion" wear I have with me is a red and gold silk Chinese jacket.  I'm told, according to the Chinese, that it is only be worn for special days; so that's what I worn in the evening. And the Filipinos seemed to be pleased with my efforts to show respect for the special day.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thursday, regular Thanksgiving day, I tried to not think too much about what day it really was. That helped to handle being away from children and grandchildren. We attended our usual Thursday district meeting and then went to Marissa Reyes's house for a big dinner. Several families from the Filipino ward were there and the food was delicious and the company was good also.

Friday evening the Chinese Branch held a Thanksgiving dinner. We wondered if there would be turkey there or if the members would feast on Chinese food only. Well, there was delicious turkey and tons of excellent Chinese food. Several of our English class students attended and enjoyed themselves. For such slender people, they can eat A LOT!!!

Saturday evening we took Sisters Douglas and Chan and an investigator, Kelvin, to Oakland to the temple grounds. We enjoyed the musical program, "The Magic of Christmas" and the turning on of the Christmas lights. All the staff at the Visitor Center were on duty that night. We were able to see our sisters: Kwon, Lee, Salazar, and Yu all in one shot.

Wish We All Could Be California Girls!!!

I'm thinking that living in California is the place to get the best haircut possible. If there is any place on earth to get a styling hairdo it would be in the San Francisco area. However, that has not been my experience. When we first arrived in Pacifica, I went into a hair salon that was close-by. I showed them how I liked to have my hair cut (Kathy Dunham had given me an extra good cut so that my hair was at it's best) and they assured me that they could handle my request. Well, the stylist cut the top short so it would spike and pulled a long piece down over my left eye and cut it to a sharp point. Thank goodness my hair grows quickly!!! Next I called Sister Blair who I replaced and asked who she had cut her hair. She referred me to Hair Techniques. Christine, the stylist there had just returned from a show in New York and was bubbling over with confidence. Only problem was, she scalped me over my ears so that all you saw was pink flesh!!!!

There had to be a solution to the simple problem of a good haircut here in fashionable San Francisco. You know your hair looks awful when the sweet Filipino sisters even comment on it. One suggested, "You need to go to a Chinese stylist. Americans just cut, cut, cut!" And she was right. Even Tom was concerned about my hair and mentioned it to his barber. She, Amy, said she knew how to cut women's hair that was trimmed over the ears: so I gave her a try. I was nervous, but courageous and it turned out the best so far. I can't believe I go to a barber. It's a no frills experience, but am I ever saving money...$16.00 a cut. It will be good to get back to Kathy and well worth the extra dough.

Preparation Day With the Leavitts

October and so far in November, the weather has been great. Yesterday we invited Elder and Sister Leavitt who cover Golden Gate and Bay Wards to come for a walk on the beach by our apartment and then to go out for dinner. Their apartment is right in the thick of San Francisco and they have commented on how it never quiets down, even in the middle of the night. We thought they'd enjoy Pacifica and I think they did.

ALIGN

Last Thursday, Nov. 10th, Tom and I drove to Oakland to help with the ALIGN conference spearheaded by Elder Thomas Brighton, Visitor Center Director. Elder Brighton had invited all the religious leaders in Oakland to meet at the Inter-Stake  building with the nonprofits in the area to talk about and learn about how they could share resources to help the residents of Oakland. There were over 200 participants and the feedback indicated they felt it was worthwhile and they wanted to have this opportunity on an ongoing basis.

Tom and I were first assigned to the front table with name tags from A-M and then I helped Sister Brighton in the kitchen prepare chicken for 150. At 6:00 pm we attended the dinner, which was actually catered, but the caterer felt he could only handle one entree so we prepared the other.

It was a fun change. The day felt more like my work at the bank...meeting and greeting the business men and women and professionals in the community.
 

Trevor

Trevor turned 4 months old here in Pacifica. He is one happy, big (18 pounds) boy. Not only is he unusually big for our family, he smiles easily and is anxious to interact with everyone. He is delightful.

The Joy Continues....

Tuesday was another great day for weather and for time with Beth and Trevor. We spent the morning at the Japanese Garden in Golden Gate Park. Everywhere you turned the view was beautiful and the atmosphere serene.

I suppose it wouldn't be right to not include fish seeing Tom Johnson is involved here.

Beth and Trevor Came Calling!

How wonderful it was to have Beth and Trevor with us from Saturday until Tuesday evening. The weather was sunny and warm on Monday and Tuesday and we made the most of it. We were all anxious to be outside as much as possible.

Beth was fascinated by the outside market near our apartment.

Friday Night English Class

For class last Friday the Chinese students who are studying English wanted a potluck. They brought lots of food and they each gave a brief talk about polite manners in their homeland.

Did you know in China it's impolite to open a gift in front of the giver or that you should not call your brother by his name? You should address him as,'Brother."  If you have more than one brother, then it's "older brother," or "younger brother." You also would call your cousins either "brother" or "sister."

Baines Family Visit

Sunday, August 21 Edward, Jackie and their two girls, Erica and Miranda, and three boys, Bentley, Austen and Lincoln joined us for church services, lunch and some time on the nearby beach. It was fun to see them and I've been chuckling ever since over a comment one of their children made. "We can tell Uncle Tom and Grandpa are brothers because they both know everything!" Doesn't my short stature, silver hair, blue eyes and general "Baines" looks make it very clear that I'm Bob's sibling??? I guess not. We enjoyed being with them.

Visiting "The Rock"

About three weeks ago, the young missionaries in our district said they were very interested in touring Alcatraz; so we went online and ordered tickets for 10. Yesterday was our day to go. Fortunately it was a warm, sunny day...perfect for being on the water and visiting a cold, stone building. Actually, it was the warmest day we've experienced since coming to Pacifica, we even broke 70 degrees!!!

All the young elders have bus passes so we just met them at Pier 33, but the young sisters have a car so we arranged to pick them up at their apartment to help them avoid the expense of parking. The four of us arrived in plenty of time to board the boat, but we were concerned about the Zone leaders. They called to say that they couldn't get on the trolley because it was full and they needed to wait for the one that would follow. Fortunately, they arrived at the pier a few minutes before the cutoff time. I really didn't want them to miss out. They each had paid $26.00 for the tour and that's a lot of money for their small missionary budget and they really, really wanted to visit "The Rock."

The boat ride over was very pleasant, and the Golden Gate National Park system does a quality job of providing a good tour. The headset tour is very interesting and the buildings are very stark and just what you'd think a prison for "the worst of the worst" would be like.

The escape stories were fascinating. Thirty-six prisoners attempted an escape over the prison's history. The records don't show any successful  getaways, but three prisoners escaped and have never been found. They think they probably drowned in the Bay.

One of the Park employees showed the young elders the hospital and psych ward which were closed off to  other tourists. He must have known how excited they were to be on the tour.  The history of the place was interesting, but as for me, give me Stanford...that's a place of beauty.

The Whites

One Wonderful Week So Far!

Monday, September 12th our dear friends, Pat and Roy Ottley, arrived in San Francisco for a much anticipated visit. We met down on Pier 43 1/2 at Aliotto's Restaurant. Pat and Roy have been coming to that restaurant for 53 years, and Roy and his parents for even longer. The Ottley family celebrated Pat and Roy's engagement there.We had a delicious seafood lunch and a great visit. It's always a special treat to be with cherished friends.

Following our time with the Ottleys, Tom and I drove to Oakland for Tom to help Elder Mayo, the housing coordinator, to connect a gas dryer in one of the mission apartments. Then we attended senior Family Home Evening at the Brightons. President and Sister Richard Hunter, current president and matron of the Oakland temple, talked about their experiences in that temple and about temple details recorded in the Old Testament that  are similar to our present day temples. It was fascinating.

Tuesday, the 13th was Zone Conference. Elder Keith R. Edwards of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and his wife attended. It was one of the best church meetings I've attended in my whole life.   At any rate, he said just the things I felt I needed to hear. It seemed such a personal, private message that it is too sacred to share.

Following lunch, his wife came to our table to chat. They spent considerable time in the Philippines with Elder Edwards serving in the Area Presidency for five years. We shared insights into Filipino culture, with Sister Evans contributing the lion's share. Her suggestions will be very useful to us.

Now, today, Wednesday the 14th, Tom and I accompanied Elder and Sister White to Palo Alto to visit Stanford University.  The Whites will be returning home to Williamsburg, VA next Thursday and we'll be bridging the gap until the Sorenson's arrive to teach Institute classes. So it was out of the fog and into beautiful, sunny Palo Alto. The Stanford campus is stunningly lovely. There is a certain refinement to the place that made me want to be a student again.

We will miss the Whites. Frequently we have traveled to Oakland with them. They are accomplished, lovely people.

Changes!

We have two new elders in our district as of last week. Elder Brown has replaced Elder Chen as our District Leader and Elder Luo has returned.  We just love Elder Luo! He's from mainland China and a great person. He was serving as a Zone Leader before being transferred here. President Wade likes to place his young missionaries back in the regular field just before they return home.

Here we are: in the back, Tom, Elder Anderson, Elder Luo (yes, unusual, but true, a Chinese elder the tallest of the bunch), Elder Brown and Elder Guan. On the front row: me, Sister Douglas and Sister Yu.

In addition to our regular responsibilities, Tom and I  have another change... a new, temporary assignment. We'll be teaching Book of Mormon Institute classes for four weeks to two dental student groups. One group of about 23 attending the University of the Pacific and a smaller group (8-10) attending University of California: San Francisco. We met both last  week and it should be a fun assignment. We're just bridging the gap between Elder and Sister White going home and the Sorensons arriving.

Ya Gotcha Wrench?

Tom and I discovered a beautiful spot in south Pacifica with trails along the coast. We sit so much studying and teaching that it feels great to get out and have a good walk. About a week ago, we were at our favorite spot, Mori Point, enjoying our walk and the beauty around us when Tom spotted a coyote. At first it was just interesting. Then we noticed a lady with a camera walking towards the coyote and it didn't run away. As a matter of fact, it advanced towards her. That freaked me out!!! "Normal"coyotes are wary of humans. It didn't take me long to high tail it down the path away from there. When we reached the main trail there were signs warning about coyotes; how they are protected and that you need to stand up as big and tall as you can so they see you as large, and to protect small children and pets against them. Today when we began our walk a man stopped us to warn us to watch  for the coyote at the end of the path. I now know there are several things needed when you take a walk there:
1. walking shoes
2. sunscreen
3. sun hat/glasses
4. and a big wrench!!!
Of course Tom brought tools with him on this mission. That's like bringing your toothbrush and shaver as far as he's concerned. I think I'll feel much more comfortable walking at Mori Point in the future if I'm carrying a big, fat wrench. Those coyotes better give me some room because I'm scared to death of them and won't be responsible for my actions should they come too close.

Fun Times With the Johnsons!!

The weather was cold and foggy, but we had a great time being with David, Reva and girls. We did the usual San Francisco tourist things: Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Park and Bridge. They really wanted to tour Alcatraz, but were unable to obtain tickets even though Reva went online almost two weeks before their trip. The tickets were sold out!! I guess that means they'll need to visit us again.

The girls were disappointed that the weather wasn't good enough to enjoy swimming in the outdoor pool here at the apartment complex. From what I've seen of the weather so far this summer, I think the pool is only for looks. Who wants to go swimming when the temperature is below 60 degrees F!

Two Different Worlds!

This past weekend, David, Reva, Victoria, Jillian, Rebekah and Sabrina were visiting us. How wonderful it was to see them again! On Sunday we attended the Serramonte Ward (Filipino) together. Here is a picture of 4 year old Sabrina with 4 year old Megan. Tom and I have been teaching Megan's grandparents since the end of January. Megan could hardly wait to meet our granddaughter who is her same age.