"Just...Serve!"

Well, I think I mentioned last week that I would give you an idea of some volunteer service we're getting into.   One of the things the President asked us to do was to make ourselves known in the community and serve anywhere we are needed.  Help people to have a good feeling about the Mormons among them!  Well, it's taken a while to find places that can use our help.  Why?  Well, we live in a gated community (Pine Mountain Lake) full of retired couples who are happy to serve in Groveland.  So many, in fact, that each person is needed at the library, thrift store, or school about one day a month at most!  Hmmm...

But, we finally talked found the right place!  This is Denise, from 'The Little House'.  She's a bundle of energy that helps run this house on the hill (literally on the hill behind the sign).  It is a community center that serves mostly retired people.  They have everything from lunches twice a week to yoga, keyboarding help, game night, daily calls to elderly people and rides down to appointments in Sonora!

 Elder Meese and I are scheduled to serve there Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, beginning next week!  He will be helping them with their computer work and I get to help as rehearsal accompanist for their singing group - The Pine Cone Singers!  I don't think they practice on the premises, so we'll see where we end up with that.  I'm sure we'll also get to visit with the people who happen in and out each day, which will be very enjoyable!

We will also shortly be able to volunteer at our little Youth Center (Yes, that little building by the park).  But we had a funny snafu with that when we went to Sonora to be fingerprinted by the District Parks and Rec.  My fingerprints went through fine.  But my companion was evidently slightly dehydrated and they couldn't get a good set!  So we have to go down again next week after he drinks a lot of water every day!  Well, I guess you won't find HIS prints on any national register!

Anyway, look at this neat skate park just to the side of it.  It should attract quite a few youth this summer.  When we're approved, they just want us to commit a few hours a week to be 'on site' and interact with the kids.  They said this tends to discourage unwanted behaviors as well as disruptive teens that might come by.  The idea is for parents to be able to trust this as a safe place for their kids. Amen.




Hey, did I mention that the keyboard came?!  In record time...I think it was a week after I had sent the paperwork!

Our little pianist was very excited when we gave it to her in its black carrying bag Sunday.  But we haven't set up lessons yet, because her life may be changing.  Her mother has been recovered and held a job long enough that she and Jasmine may be moving into their own apartment.  So we'll have to see what happens after this transition.  On missions, things seldom follow Plan A.  Often it's not Plan B, either.  But the Lord is in charge, and there IS a plan.  There will be a way.


Okay, speaking of volunteering, you know how they sometimes call for a priesthood detail to come help clean up a neighbor's yard?  Well take a look at this one...




Here's the view the other direction:

The homeowner, Jim, is on the tractor.  They have quite the 'yard'.  And let me show you my favorite part.  Below is their home; to the right is Jim's 'garage'.

I'll show you the interior below.  He said he worked three jobs for thirty years to be able to build this, and he loves it.  He was an EMT and member of the fire department, and he is evidently the person you call for just about anything you need.  You know the person - solid testimony, willing to help everyone, knowledgable, handy, and also funny.  Okay, here is the shop:

And through little french doors to the left of this shot: 

That door leads across a little deck to their house.  But just on the other side of the door there's also one more area in the shop:

Okay, sure.  I mean you need a kitchen, don't you?  Otherwise you'd have to actually stop and go in for meals!

He said sometimes his young co-workers would say, 'I want this set up!'  Great, he'd tell them. You work thirty years at three jobs and you can have one, too.  






Have you ever driven through a cloud?  Here's a totally unrelated but fascinating series of photos.  Every time we descend from Groveland to do shopping or attend a mission meeting, we go down about 1500 ft in about 1.7 miles. It's just over a 14 percent grade.  The road is called Old Priest Grade, and as I've said, no one needs to tell you to stay under the 25 mph speed limit.  Well, one day we saw a cloud beneath us on our journey down

Cool, huh.  Okay, possibly not so cool while we were in it, but wonderful to come out beneath it! 

So once again, I should close.  But one more ... some people ask what we do in the evenings.  Well, we don't have a TV.  We used the cable coming into the house to get internet instead.  We read quite a bit.  Some nights we talk with family.  And we have a sweet little library (hours are 10 to 2, T-Sat!) where you can check out books as well as DVD's.  So sometimes, when we don't have appointments, we have a date night!  Last night we watched 'Invictus' - a powerful message about how much good one man can do following Christ's teachings about forgiveness.  A little different from the rules of the young missionaries' evenings, but such are the spoils of being on a 'senior' mission!    

Too Little; Too Much

Well, living in Groveland has taught me a dramatic lesson about the effects of water.  First, the effects of several years of drought.  

These piles of timber are everywhere, evidence of the destruction from bark beetles.  From what I've learned, it seems that a tree's sap keeps the beetles from infesting and destroying it.  But with years of drought, the sap dries up, leaving the perfect opportunity for bark beetles to move in.   They lay their eggs, which then hatch into young that feed there and destroy the tree from the inside out.  By the time land owners are aware of their presence, the original beetles are long gone... destroying more trees.   So tragic.

We understand the lumber yards just have no more room for more loads, so some are even being shipped to China!  It's just so sad to see the dried, orange remains of so many beautiful pines!


Okay, now fast forward to this year, when they've had record rainfall here and Don Pedro Lake is full to brimming.  The water level is at ninety-one percent, before the Spring run off!  Good news?  Yes, until the excess causes problems on the other side!!  Hence, the photo below:

This is the latest picture of Highway 120 in Yosemite Park.  It comes right through Groveland and is the 'life blood' of the community with the tourist traffic it brings!!  Last year over one million cars came through here to the North entrance of the Park.  Well, this 'main road' began to erode almost a month ago with a mudslide, then a sink hole.  Let me just say, the news has just gone from bad to worse with each report, until the original three foot drop (100 ft long) has grown to a depth of 100 feet and a length of 200 feet.  This week they had to bring in another excavator to pull the first excavator out after it began sinking as it was working.

Until they can figure how to repair this road, the situation in our sweet Groveland is looking very frightening, economically.  The main businesses can probably ride out the loss of the season, but several wonderful little boutiques and specialty shops will never be able to make it.  

Okay, on the brighter side of mission life here, we just had some great news.  This young couple is expecting their first child!  Will and Kiersten are our ONLY young duo, so they've been rather 'adopted' by all the grandparents here.

 Will is a guide for a private firm that works in Yosemite.  Between 'hikes' they made this trip with us to the Fresno temple.  It is a sweet temple!  One of the 'small' ones.  And in case I forget how blessed we are to have so many close temples around Layton, remind me that we drove almost three hours to Fresno, which they said was so much easier than going to Oakland because of the horrendous traffic.

And speaking of distance,...









We continue to visit the wonderful members of Groveland branch.  We loved the time with this great couple who live about an hour from the church.  And I am not talking city driving.  I'm saying this man in his 80's traverses the winding narrow mountain roads every Sunday.  Even though their hearing losses make it lucky if they get half of what is said, they are there every week.  You've just got to love Groveland branch.





By the way, did I give you a picture of our chapel?  This was a recent 'add on' to the original building. I love it because it is new and beautiful and clean,...and just 'shortened'.  You really are seeing the last row of seats before the back doors.

Our building also houses a font, Relief Society and Primary rooms, and a Family History Center (well, room).  It is manned by this Sister who stays two hours every week following our meetings and again Wednesday evenings to allow people to come and use their resources.

Pam holds a Family History training class during Sunday School, too.  She knows her stuff.   And speaking of Genealogy, Fred has also sniffed out a Genealogy group that meets monthly at the library.  He turned in his dues and attended the first gathering today.











And what goes on at home?  Welllll..... twice a week we make a couple of batches of cookies; bread making is once a week.  We take everyone we visit a small plate of goodies, which we were told opens doors!

And the triumph in this life style?  The fact that we have not put on weight!  The main reason, I'm thinking, is that we have been walking every morning.  Even on rainy days, it seems to hold off long enough for me to do about 1.6 miles and Fred to go on for another mile.  And these continue to be our friends on most walks:

We also have turkeys trotting pretty regularly through the yard, and one cute grey squirrel that likes our back deck!

Oh, and I always love when the weather breaks long enough to enjoy a balmy evening outside.  The Daltons invited a few of us over to their beautiful newly built patio for the first hamburgers of the season!  There's nothing better than that first juicy burger... the promise of summer!

Well, once again, it's hard to end a post.  But next time I'll tell you about our volunteer efforts!  We have finally found a couple of places where we can be of service!  So until next time, I'll give you one more view of my favorite companion in one of his favorite rooms at the chapel. hahaha  You've got to love that man's dedication.  He's going to get those records whipped right into shape!  We love this branch.  We love all of you.  We love the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We're Beginning to Settle In

Well, we're starting to feel a 'new normal' in our little cabin.  This Sunday we were both asked to speak, and Fred commented to me later that every person in the congregation was now familiar to us.  Of course, we're not talking a large congregation!  But we've been out visiting with several, and it makes a big difference.  Here are a few more:

This is Reita.  She's pretty amazing.  She cares for her sister, her husband with a broken leg, her adult daughter and her granddaughter in her home. She was a school teacher.  And she's delightful.   She and I are the same age.  She has the most positive outlook on life and a wonderful testimony.    Her granddaughter would like to take some piano lessons from me using the church's accompanying course.

The church has a pretty nice piano course designed specifically to 'fast track' learners to be able to play the hymns.  I'll send for the course and we'll see how it goes.  It worked pretty well with Siti, our Thai friend in England.  This little fireball ought to take to it pretty well, too!  

My only question is how to meet with her often enough.   Their town is quite a ways out.  And we'll have to see if she qualifies to get one of the church's little keyboards so she can practice.  It's really a great program the church has set up to help train church accompanists. 

Driving between areas to visit members, we see a lot of interesting sights.  Here's one we haven't been used to:  an oak tree with mistletoe clumps!  We had to look this one up when we got home to see what goes on there!

So evidently these mistletoe clumps are parasitic to several different types of  host trees.  It says they don't generally kill the host, although that sometimes happens.  Pretty strange looking, huh?  

And speaking of trees, here is a great one we encountered while visiting another great family in our branch.  They invited us to pick a bunch of lemons!  

And what do you do when life hands you a lemon?     

Of course! 

Have I told you about our sweet organist/pianist in the branch?  This is Joanne.  She fills the duty of organist in sacrament meeting as well as being primary and Relief Society pianists.  And...she has arthritis.  She says the doctor told her if she wants her fingers to keep working, keep playing piano!  

The chapel piano helps her out, because it is an electric digital from the church.  It plays prelude on its own.  If she's away, it will also play the hymns on its own!  Someone just needs to sit on the bench and tap any key in the speed it should be going.  Pretty amazing.  And wonderful for outlying areas in our worldwide church so everyone can sing to accompanied hymns.  

Anyway, she asked me one day in jest, 'So how accomplished are you on the piano?'  I told her, "I'm good enough that the Lord sent me to fill in for you so you can have your knee replaced this month." She goes in for the surgery the end of March and plans to be in good shape to return to her position in Yosemite in a month...and to the piano bench! 

By the way, I haven't introduced you to our two counselors in the bishopric:  

I know, I told him he really could be on KBYU's "American Ride".  Brother C. just had quadruple bypass, which is totally annoying him because they live WAY out in the boondocks where I'm sure he takes care of everyone around.  And by the way, his wife Cathy is another Yosemite worker!  

So who took over his assignments while Al was recuperating?  

Our other counselor, Brother Brown.  He built their home, and it's evidently just the latest of many he's built for them.  I wish I had also taken a picture of their garage so you could see his Corvette!  

If you put the church in the middle in your mind, he would live 45 minutes one direction from it, and Al would be just as far the other direction.  And President Whitmer lives down in Sonora!  Needless to say, they don't hold any unnecessary meetings.  

I have to say, we travel around some beautiful countryside as we make visits during the week.  Saturday Fred decided to take me up to Yosemite, just for a ride.  You can't go very far into the park from our side; Hwy 120 is still in trouble from a mudslide and sink hole due to the rains.  But there were still some pretty interesting sights!  Like this: 

Let's talk chains!  And what was this machine for?  

Here's the front, with an auger to throw some serious snow!  We were also amazed on our way in to see so much of the forest burned out!  Then we realized that big Yosemite fire happened in 2013 while we were in England!  We hope they get the road damage repaired before tourist season up here, or they say our little Groveland will be in serious economic trouble. 

Wow, I just looked at the size of this post.   I have to wrap it up.  But I think I'll end with a shot that really makes me laugh.  Fred was looking over these bushes to try to get a close up of some deer  while we were walking.  I don't know whose ears picked up first!  Anyway, have a great week.   We love you all!  

A Blessed Sabbath

You know that warm and pleasant California mission we were anticipating?  Well, some days not so much.  Like the bizarre beginning to this Sabbath!

By 9 am this morning, rain had turned to snow with the promise of several inches throughout the day.  We were dubious about even making it up our driveway for the 10:00 sacrament meeting.

But, we had a prayer, called a local member for route advice to get out of Pine Mountain, and decided to head out.

President Whitmer contacted all members in outlying areas, advising them to just stay home!
To our Utah friends, this would look like 'no problem', but when all the roads are steep and winding with no guard rails, it becomes a different issue!

Luckily my companion is a good driver and also took it slow enough for his white-knuckled passenger.  Then, another blessing!  A car came onto our road that we could follow right to the church!  A member!

When we arrived in the parking lot, he emerged from his car and started taking pictures all around.  Not until we met Bro. Sprague inside did we find that he had come up from the valley for the day (to their summer home) and this was the first time he'd driven in snow!!  (Hence the photo shoot)  We all had a good laugh about our gratitude to have a seasoned driver lead the way for us!

Anyway, it turned out to be a hearty little band of eight branch members in our quiet chapel.  We decided we had everything we needed to worship together.  So two of the men administered the sacrament after we sang a sacrament hymn.  It felt wonderful to be there together.

President Whitmer was anxious to get us home safely after that, but he gave a lovely brief message about the importance of the sacrament in helping us to be clean once more.  Then, before we left, he asked if he could take a picture of the group to remember this time together.  We all felt the same way.

I think this experience is only going to be sweeter in the remembering.  There was a real spirit of reverence there with us.   I also loved our dedicated president who made the hour long drive to the chapel to be with his flock.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."  Matt 18:20






And although we couldn't ask for any more blessings this morning, there was a break in the storm long enough to almost clear the roads for our drive home.

Another Week In Paradise

 I think I might have to feel guilty about our circumstances on this mission!  This is an actual picture we took by the side of the road as we walked today.  It is just soul-cleansing to get up and walk for half an hour through this glorious mountainside.  Of course, it isn't quite as undeveloped as it looks!  There are actually just over 3,000 homes in Pine Mountain Lake (our little community).  They just didn't show up in this shot.   But you also DO have to watch closely when you're driving.   We understand these beauties quite often get hit, being too 'at home'.

But on to more important things.   I promised to show you some of the wonderful people of Groveland branch.   Here are a few:

This is Brother Smith, the branch mission leader.   He came over to help Fred become acquainted with the branch.   He's going to be invaluable...and he's a very genuine man.   (Don't you have to love the 'farm theme' decor in our kitchen?)

The next picture is of our awesome branch president and his wife, President and Sister Whitmer.  When he conducts sacrament meeting, he says, "Good morning, brothers and sisters." And the whole congregation replies in full voice, "Good morning."   You just don't find men any better or more dedicated than this.

This probably won't surprise you, but we have several branch members that have worked for years at Yosemite.  Our Relief Society president is one of them.  Her husband is also a retired firefighter and EMT and restorer of cars.   They have all the bases covered!

She drove several of us to a massive Multi-Regional Women's Conference last Saturday where Sister Burton came to speak.
She chose to take the 'straight-down the mountain, burn-your-brakes-out Old Priest Grade road.  I asked if it ever bothered her to go this way (evidently it would not be my choice!) and she responded, "I could go down here with my eyes closed...but I won't."  She was serious.

And speaking of the Women's Conference, it was so powerful.  Our little crew of twelve left Groveland at 7:30 am to get to Turlock by 9:00.   It began at 10, but we wanted to get good seats.  We arrived to a crowd already half way back into the cultural hall!!  These women were ready to gather and hear some counsel!  The theme was Finding Joy in life.   And every talk was amazingly uplifting.   It was just a spirit-filled experience.

Then we went to lunch together...of course!  Note our darling young sister in the foreground, Kirsten.  She and her husband are guides with a company at Yosemite.  Come Memorial Day, we probably won't be seeing much of her husband!   The branch members have told us to hold on from Memorial Day to Labor Day because it gets totally overrun with tourists.  President Whitmer says it's great for the branch because you only get the finest, most dedicated members that seek out a chapel while they're on vacation.   He loves it.

Here's another great member I met Sunday, Brother Boyak.  He's evidently been our high council representative for quite a while...so long he feels like part of the ward.  You know those rare people who are both very knowledgable and spiritual, and also humble and personable?  That's him.  Our Gospel Doctrine teacher went home sick Sunday and he taught the lesson on an hour's notice.

I know...he's also a bit 'Bill Nye the Science Guy'.













I also may have mentioned that our branch covers quite an area.  The President lives 45 min. north of the chapel.  One of his counselors is 35 min. SE and the other lives 40 minutes SW!  You don't hold unnecessary meetings with those numbers!  Anyway, you get to see some colorful sites (and sights!) traveling between towns.  Here are two that really gave us a chuckle:

For those who are nearsighted, it reads "Point of Hysterical Interest".  

This second one would make you wonder if you're really in California.  But hey, you take religious sentiment wherever you can find it these days!  

 Well, enough for this post.  Let me also say that we had a wonderful zone meeting yesterday.  But you won't see any photos from me about it because the President has a mission rule against taking pictures of Elders or Sisters.  It's a privacy issue, since you don't know where they will be posted.     But they have one cool practice that took me off guard before yesterday's meeting.  I stopped for a restroom break before going in, and when I entered the chapel, all the Elders stood.  It is a mission rule that Elders stand every time the Sisters come into a room.  It's part of President Palmer's feeling that Sisters should be shown total respect ("They were under no obligation to come out here.   They are here because they love the Lord and we will show them the respect they deserve".)

Oh, one more picture.   We never gave you the 'incoming missionary with his President' photo to show we were here in Modesto.   This was the night of our arrival, when we got to sleep in the beautiful mission home in Ripon.

So for this post, farewell from the beautiful mountains of Groveland.   Next time I'll have to delve into how we actually spend our days!   We love you all, and the Lord is blessing us beyond measure.
We could not be more grateful.