Well, It's About Time!

It's been 43 years since Marilyn Kjeldgaard, my first cousin, and I have gotten together.  When we last met we were visiting  Lethbridge, Alberta and just young women in our 20s. Marilyn had returned to Lethbridge for Jerry's mother's funeral and she brought her newborn son, Kipp, with her.  I happened to be back in Alberta for a short break from BYU.

After that brief visit, Marilyn returned to Chico, CA and I returned to Provo, UT and then on to Madison, WI and even later to Hillsboro, OR.  Both of us only return to our native Alberta every year or two for a very short visit and our paths never crossed.

With the passage of time, Marilyn and Jerry relocated to Salinas, CA,still no where near to me.  But when we were called to the CA Oakland/San Francisco Mission I knew we would have to get together.   Marilyn suggested that we meet at the Stanford Shopping Center; so that is exactly what we did. She drove 1 1/2 hours there.  For us it was only about a 40 minute drive. It was so refreshing to get out of San Francisco and be in Palo Alto, but even more refreshing and satisfying was the visit with Marilyn.  She remains gracious, well-informed and charming--just like 43 years ago.

One Year Older and Wiser (Fuller) too!

Sunday was my birthday, but we celebrated on Saturday night with our Chinese students who attend English classes. They took us to Brotherhood Seafood Restaurant on Irving Street in S. F.  The food was authentic and to top things off they bought a delicious cake from a German bakery.

Then Sunday, instead of commemorating the anniversary of the Relief Society organization, it was only about "Sister Johnson's birthday.  Three different cakes and lots of vanilla ice cream pleased the sisters.

Yesterday, Monday the 19th, was the last day our mission district would all be together before transfers so we met for lunch at Kome, a Japanese buffet.  Once again, we celebrated my birthday. It's been the year for food, food, food.

However, some of the things that have touched my heart the very most were: the lace stone necklace from my children, the "Birthday in a Box" from the Zundels, the sweater and blouse from my cousin, The Hiding Place book from Mary Apeland, the phone call from Pat and Roy and the silk scarf and steak dinner from dear Tom.  It's been quite the celebration and quite the year!!

Guess Who?

Yesterday our mission, CA: Oakland/San Francisco Mission, joined with the CA: Santa Rosa Mission in a memorable meeting at the Interstake Center in Oakland.  Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife and Elder Richard J. Maynes of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife were the featured speakers. Between the two missions, there were over four hundred missionaries in attendance. Both Elder Perry and Elder Maynes were very warm and personable in their approach.  It was just a wonderfully uplifting meeting.

Prior to the meeting and following it, Tom and I were on the lookout for JR's cousin, Hermana Anderson, who is presently serving in the Santa Rosa Mission.  I was the first to spot her. Atleast I thought this tall sister looked like the pictures I'd seen of her.  We worked our way through the crowd and sure enough--it was Sister Courtney (Coco) Anderson. We have a picture to prove we met her. 

Take a Hike!

...that's exactly what we did yesterday.  We, along with the Brightons and Broadbents, hiked from the Golden Gate Bridge to the famous Cliff House restaurant.  It's a distance of about 4 miles and although the trail is well developed and maintained, it's a lot of up and down. The weather was cool and dry and windless so we could completely enjoy the the trees, folage, the water and the sound of the waves. Part of the hike moved from the hills along the mouth of the Bay to the Seacliff area of San Francisco.  The houses were majestic and the gardens beautiful. I particularly liked one simple wooden gate that was bordered by orchids in lovely pots.

Surprise!

Last Thursday Tom and Elder Gary Leavitt attended the BYU basketball game at the University of San Francisco. That left Sister Bonnie Leavitt and me as the teachers for the English class in Chinatown that evening.  The four of us had a delicious homecooked dinner at the Leavitt's apartment in downtown S.F. before Gary drove us to the bus and the two of them on to the game. 

Teaching the students there was pleasant enough after which we took the bus back to their neigborhood. Coming back we needed to walk quite a bit farther than on the trip to Chinatown. I enjoy talking to Bonnie Leavitt a lot so there was no problem with a long walk. When we came to Sacramento St. the intersection was closed and there were numerous police and motorcycles with their lights blazing. Sis. Leavitt asked what was going on and we were told that President Obama would be coming by and sure enough within a few minutes we saw motorcycles, three limousines (he was in the second one), many white vans containing security personnel and even a Fire and Rescue vehicle. The whole thing was over in a flash, but it was a delightful surprise considering we then had to walk by three homeless people before reaching the Leavitt's apartment.  Bonnie was much more comfortable with the environment than was I.

Karen Made a Second Visit

How  happy we were to welcome Karen a second time as a visitor on our mission. However, the weather was less than welcoming.  It was nasty...cold, gray and very, very windy.  On Monday there was even icy rain thrown into the mix. Unfortunately we felt it was wise to modify our plans. Consequently, Karen has wanted to visit Chinatown on both of her visits, but she will need to come back a third time to do that.

Saturday we traveled to Oakland to attend the Mandarin session at the temple. Karen did such a good job of remembering the Chinese people she had met on her first visit here.  We chuckled, because there were more people there wearing headsets than native Mandarin speakers.

After attending church at the Filipino ward on Sunday, we went to the Chinese Branch. How fortunate for all of us, there were two English speakers that day and their talks were being translated for the main congregation.  We were able to laugh at their humorous comments before some of the others and that was a treat for me. In the afternoon we pulled on our windbreakers, gloves and scarves and toured the Stanford campus.  It's always beautiful, but not quite as stunning on a windy, cold day.

Monday, the weather was even worse. So what do sensible women do when their other plans go awry; we drove to the mall in San Mateo and bought new outfits.  Tom patiently looked at tools at Sears and ski equipment while he waited for the appointed time to meet the two of us. We, of course, called to ask for an extension. Afterwards,we went out for a Chinese lunch and drove back to Pacifica.

Once Karen had packed, and even though we were quite full, we went to the Cliff House for desserts.  The view of the turbulent ocean was good and the food was delicious. This was a good idea, despite our bulging stomachs.

It was WONDERFUL to spend some time with Karen.  Only 4 1/2 months until we'll be spending more time with family.

Sad Day

Yesterday was Chinese New Year.  It's the most important Chinese celebration of the whole year.  All the family members gather together for a feast of special foods.  There's always a whole fish and that must all be eaten so the family will be prosperous in the new year.  The Chinese children love the celebration because they receive new clothes and red envelopes containing money from each of their relatives.  They show their respect and love for the more senior members of the family by kneeing down in front of them and touching their foreheads to the floor three times before they request the red envelope. Chinese New Year celebration extends for fifteen days...a full two weeks of feasting and visiting the homes of all your relatives. It's a time of warmth, kindess and bonding together.

However, we arose early on the 23rd to drive Elder Fini to the airport so he could return home. It was not a day of celebration for us.  Elder Fini is one of our very favorite young missionaries.  He has been struggling with clinical depression and we so desperately hoped he would be able to conquer it rather than need to return home to recover. Elder Fini is an exceptional young man.  He has been on full scholarship for the past two years at Northwestern in Chicago in Organic Chemistry, he plays the piano with such feeling and skill and he has mastered Mandarin more quickly than any other American young missionary we know.  He's just a delight, quick and witty. However, he's been so engaged and focused on school and music that his underlying depression has been submerged. He knew he wasn't happy, but felt like when he was through school, or on a mission, then he would be happy and all he needed to do was prepare and accomplish so he could reach those goals.  Well, here in the mission field there are so many things out of our control.  You can work hard and teach well, but the results are in other individuals' hands.  We also have slow times, very slow times that give you lots of time to think and to realize how you feel. Elder Fini has a strong, genuine belief in the Church and the teachings and divinity of Jesus Christ,but he at this point cannot handle not being more in control of the outcome. So his counsellor has recommended he return home to a schedule he can control, to a familiar environment and then with counselling and careful medication adjustment prepare to return to finish his assignment.  He deeply desires to do that too. We will dearly miss him and his classical prelude to English classes.  It was heavenly!!

Now a word about Elder Jin, his companion.  Elder Jin is from mainland China.  He and his family, father, mother, grandpa, grandma and aunt, make up the only members of the church in their large city. He has been an exceptionally kind, wise companion to Elder Fini.  I have great respect for his maturity at such a young age.

Our Firstborn Came Visiting!!!

San Francisco showed it's best face when Susan was here visiting.  The temperature was in the mid-60s, the sun was shining and there was little breeze. She flew in on Thursday afternoon and as soon as we arrived at our place in Pacifica, we took her to the beach that is just one block directly to the west of our apartment. Then we went out to dinner at Grannucci's, an excellent Italian restaurant. Followed by a shopping trip in Chinatown.

Friday, she had a pedicure and I had a manicure before we headed into the city to view the art at the Legion of Honor museum. That evening she attended English class with us. It was easy to see that she enjoyed the students, just as we do.

Following English class on Saturday morning, we walked down Irving Street to see how the immigrants live and shop in San Fran. We lunched at a Japanese restaurant and then drove to Golden Gate Park, where we viewed the buildings and toured the Japanese Garden. Of course, we had to visit Golden Gate Bridge. After a dinner of Mexican food, we attended an uplifting Stake Conference.  Sunday, we were at Stake Conference once again and then to the airport to send Susan back to her husband and girls.  It was WONDERFUL having her here!!! And now that she's left, the weather has changed. We're having clouds and a stiff, cool wind.

The Beautiful Beach

Our apartment is located one block east of the Pacific Ocean.  After months of construction there is now an access path directly in line with our apartment to the beach below.  Today is Wednesday, the 4th of January (Kayla's 11th birthday) and the sun is shining ( high of 64 degrees F), the water is sparkling and the whole scene is beautiful.  It doesn't look or feel like a Madison, WI day in January.

New Year's Eve With the Chinese!

Anna, in the red sweater, invited the students in the Intermediate English class to her house (she rents a room at this house and her landlady, in the bright blue top next to Anna, joined us for the party)for a "hot pot" party on New Year's Eve. As the pictures show, there were two large pots filled with water each divided into two sections on butane burners on the table.  Note the serving dishes holding shrimp, beef, chicken, pork, fish balls, dumplings, turnips, cabbage, spinach, bean sprouts etc.  This is how it worked.  Using tongs, you drop whatever food you want to eat into the boiling water closest to you. When it is cooked (the dumplings rise to the top when done), you use your own personal wire scoop to retrieve it and put it on your plate.  The individual bowls are for the sauce you have mixed for your own food.  The Chinese barbeque sauce is HOT!!! I know! They provided chopped garlic, green onions, fish sauce, barbeque sauce and soy sauce to mix for your own personal sauce.  It really was very tasty and the quantity of food was amazing.  Yi Chen was to my left and Anna was to my right next to Tom and they BOTH kept filling my plate. I told them I was full, to little avail. Tom was smart. He left some food on his plate and they quit filling his.  I ate until I had the hiccups and then they all had remedies to suggest. How they love to take care of their teachers. They are so kind to us.

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.