Diversion!

Bob and Jolene Steck, President Randy Steck's uncle and aunt,  invited us to a concert last Thursday evening. The music was delightful and the Stecks are gracious, wonderful people to spend the evening with. It was a refreshing change.

Birthday Time!

It was wonderful to be remembered by family and friends on my birthday. The day started out with a phone call from my brother, Bob, and then at the end of the day I went to the mailbox and it was bursting with cards and a package. It's a good feeling to be remembered even when you're away.

Mary Apeland sent products from home. What an angel she is. And our children had a book printed with family pictures showing the 4o+ years we've been a family. The pictures touched my heart.  At English class the night of my birthday, I took treats for the students and our one student who was flying out to Singapore that night dropped into class with a pink scarf for me and a card that said, "Ever 29."  We had taught them that in America you don't ask an adult woman or even an adult man their age. Many of us say " We're 29 again."

The Word From the Tokyo Mission

The tsunami may have been a non-event in Pacifica, CA,but it certainly was significant elsewhere. Actually it was earth-changing for all of us and life- changing for hundreds of thousands. Here is a note from the Traxlers who we met at the MTC in Provo and who are now serving as office missionaries in Vancouver,B.C.

Greetings from Canada!

We like everyone else were amazed by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan when we awoke to the news on Friday.  How are you guys and your mission?  I know the US was bracing for possible large waves and  I did hear there was some trouble in LA.  There was a couple in the MTC with us, the Lewis's.  They stayed the 2nd week when we did to have training because they were going to be office missionaries in Toyko.  We made friends with them and so when we heard, I called out to Toyko.  It was about 2:30 pm our time and 7:00am Sat. morning there.  They were at the office with 60 missionaries who had spent the night since they had been in for zone conference the day the earthquake hit.  Their mission president had changed the day of the conference and as a result, all those missionaries who would've been in Sendai, the place that was the hardest hit were safe in Toyko.  Isn't that awesome!  Pam said they definately had felt the quake and everyone had to go out into the street  and they were shook up but all were safe.  No transportation was running so I don't know how long they will have the missionaries there.   We have several missionaries in our mission from Japan and we were able to verify that all parents and families were safe and accounted for.  On another note we were able to go to our first zone conference and it was awesome.  We have gained a new respect and admiration for those fine young sisters and elders.  Take care; we think of you often.
Suzanne and Paul

Tsunami Day in Pacifica, CA-03-11-11

We were abruptly awakened by a phone call at 4:10 this morning. The evening before we had visited and taught Christine Peterson and she kindly called to warn us of an approaching tsunami. Christine lives on the block next to the ocean only about 15 feet above sea level. She was preparing to pack up and drive to the local high school that was serving as a shelter. We quickly turned on the TV and sure enough there was a tsunami warning for our area, but our apartment is on higher ground (approx. 60 ft above sea level.) While we were processing this new information and thinking about other missionaries who were also living in low lying areas, President Wade called to alert us. Both he and Tom were concerned about the missionaries who live in Half Moon Bay. President Wade had been unsuccesful in reaching them by phone so he requested that Tom and I drive to their apartment to check on them.

We quickly dressed and headed for Half Moon Bay. We took the route called "Devil's Slide" because it is high above the water even if it is windy. When we arrived at the address Pres. Wade had given us, there were no missionaries. So we called Elder Mayo, the senior missionary in charge of housing for the mission. Apparently, Pres. Wade had the address where the monthly rent check is sent, not the location of the missionaries. Once we had the correct address, it was a piece of cake to find the missionaries. Tom went in and they quickly came out with him and we headed back to our apartment. By this time the roadways in Half Moon Bay were lined with police directing traffic away from the roads nearest the ocean.

So once more we went over Devil's Slide and back to our place. We watched the updates on TV and ate hash browns, scrambled eggs, toast, jam, fruit and juice and counted our many blessings. The water crested at 8:09 am and was really a non-event, thank goodness! The ocean just looked like a normal winter storm day...a little rough and larger than normal waves. 

Once we knew the worse was over, we reported in to President Wade and drove the missionaries back to their place. When we returned home, both Tom and I were exhausted. We must have been more anxious than we had realized. Karen, Susan and David each called to check on us. It was great to talk with each of them.

A New Student for English Class

Peijun has recently come to the US. In China, she studied English for five years and her pronunciation shows it. We welcome another bright, hard-working student.

Can you tell the church is cold? Most classtimes we wear our coats, but we sure have fun together.

Welcome to English Class

Teaching English to the Chinese is one of our favorite activities. They are focused, dedicated students. Here's the Advanced Class: Jim, Bill, Anna and Renee.
- Jim has recently joined us and the class is challenging for him, but he works at it and learns a lot every time we meet.
-Bill has been in the US for four months now. During the day he attends English classes at the community college and three times a week he meets with us. He comprehends written English very well and his conversational English is improving in leaps and bounds.
-Anna likes to talk and her conversational English shows it. Her reading is improving.
-Renee understands English quite well. She has been a little hesitant to speak it for fear of making errors. Our classroom atmosphere is very comfortable and she is participating more all the time. We like errors for we can learn from them.

Thank You, Carrie Ussery!

It became very clear this week that my time and effort spent practising the piano has paid off. I've been playing for Primary each week in the Serramonte Ward (Filippino.) Unbelieveable as it may seem, they don't have any one in their unit who plays much better than I do. The children had been singing unaccompanied; so they were ever so glad to have whatever level of help I could give.

This week was the real kicker. President Wade calls on missionaries out of the blue to fulfill assignments and he doesn't accept excuses etc. I was quite aware of this after attending the "New Arrivals" meeting. He asked Elder Kesler and his "greenie" companion to sing a hymn, knowing full well that Elder Kesler isn't much of a singer. Afterwards Pres. Wade commented on how Elder Kesler had fulfilled his assignment without excuses and with dignity. I'm sure you get the picture. Anyway, at the monthly Senior Missionary Training, he annouced that I would play and Sister White would conduct the music. Actually, I played quite well and I wasn't nervous. I even was proud of  myself!  It was a good piano and the sound was rich and full. Something I did learn though,  I should start carrying my piano glasses with me. Thank you, Carrie for all of your helps. It has made a positive difference. Remember, we're going piano shopping together when Tom and I come home.