Fun in Fresno, Soccer in Sonoma

Our trip to California to visit Kris, Erin and Tylre (and her family) and Charlene Sappington and her family was tiring, but very fun.  It’s a long drive to Fresno and Sonoma so it was nice to have family happy to see us on the other end.  While we were at Charlene’s we enjoyed catching up on all the family news.  Todd and Naoko, already married in the eyes of the Japanese government, will have a formal ceremony on August 8 in Japan.  Tyson will marry in August as well, so Charlene has a lot of travel ahead of her.  Tiffany and Bob are close to finalizing the adoption of little Abby … and Bob is scheduled to have weight loss surgery very soon.

On Monday night, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and fun conversation with Tyson and his kids, Tiffany and Bob and their kids and Charlene.  On Tuesday, we had a lovely day with Charlene.  We stopped by the Fresno Temple (didn’t bring the right clothes so were not able to attend), then toured the Forestiere Underground Gardens.  It didn’t look like much from the street, but it was beautiful and intriguing.  If you are ever in the Fresno area, it is definitely worth your time to see this one-of-a-kind subterranean home and garden hand built by one man between the years of 1906 and 1946.  On Wednesday, we took a swing through Yosemite National Park, including the Pioneer Yosemite History Center.  It was a lovely day despite the fact there was NO water in the streams and only a slight mist coming off the mountain side where a world-famous waterfall was supposed to be. 

On Thursday morning, we loaded up the car and headed to Sonoma for a visit with Kris and Erin.  On the way, we stopped for a brief visit with Troy and Linda and their family.  It was fun to see how tall their girls are getting and how much they are enjoying their beautiful third baby girl.

Kris wasn’t able to get Friday off, but it gave us the opportunity to spend time with Erin and meet Kris’ co-workers and her boss, Jeremy.  We had lunch and hung out that evening with Tylre, Jaeson and their adorable Memo (Guillermo).  I made Master Mix for EJ, we cleaned the kitchen for Kris, took in a movie and cheered Memo at his first ever soccer camp.  All in all, it was a very fun weekend, just not enough time together.

On Sunday morning we headed back to Charlene’s for dinner with her family and so our trip home wouldn’t be 10 hours in one day, but rather 4 hours on Sunday and 7 hours on Monday.  It was nice to get home, but we sure enjoyed being with everyone, even for a little while.

The Golden State is Now the Brown State

After four years of serious drought, compounded by environmental issues relating to the endangered smelt, the Golden State of California can now, more realistically be called the Brown State – at least in the central California valley in and around Fresno.  The drought is caused in part because of a lack of rain / water shed ... and partly because environmentalists are standing in the way of the building of dams and catch basins for any rain water.

Referred to as America’s fruit bowl, Fresno’s once thriving agricultural region, has annually shipped countless truckloads of oranges, lemons, grapefruit, pistachios, grapes, pecans, olives and other produce to communities all around the nation (maybe even to some parts of the world). 

But in the summer of 2015, there are millions of acres of prime agricultural land which is not being cultivated and probably that much again which is not being grazed by beef cattle.  It’s pretty unnerving because the cost of everything is going to go sky high.  Better get your food storage!

Two Weekends in the Row, Tuacahn and a Cat with Diabetes

Stacy has a friend at the hospital.  She is a cute, single mother of two and a respiratory therapist.  Stacy told her about her divorced brother and they connected on FB.  Michael came down last weekend from Pleasant Grove to meet her.  We all went up to Pine Valley to get out of the heat and cook burgers … then Michael came back again for the 4^th of July!  

On Friday night, Ed and I got free tickets to Tuacahn where we volunteer regularly, so we took Stacy, Taisley, Michael and his new friend Miranda to see “When You Wish,” a new Disney play which was created on the Tuacahn stage.  It was delightful and we enjoyed a fun evening together.

David and his family came from Denver for their annual week on Jan’L’s family houseboat at Lake Powell.  It’s been awhile since both of my sons have been here at the same time.

Then there’s my mother’s cat Penny who was diagnosed a week ago with diabetes.  I ordered the insulin and, since Friday, have been giving the cat a daily shot.  She is 15-years old and the center of my mother’s universe so I am doing my best to keep the cat alive until my mother passes.  We’ll see!

And then, we went to Allysa's to celebrate Daxton's 6th birthday ... and Ed sold my Jag.

I’m also sad about the passing this week of Pdt. Boyd K. Packer.  My thoughts and prayers are with his family and with all members of the church who loved this man who wrote his commitment of agency, soon after he came home from his mission:  ‘I’m not neutral, and you can do with me what you want. If you need my vote, it’s there. I don’t care what you do with me and you don’t have to take anything from me because I give it to you—everything, all I own, all I am.”  

Us at the Mormon Miracle Pageant

It was a delightful special treat to be able to travel with Stacy and Taisley to the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti. It was a 4-hour trip on a warm summer day, with Stacy and Taisley stuffed into the teeny, tiny backseat of Dad's old pickup truck. There was a crowd of thousands, an inspirational show on Temple Hill and, of course, the usual protestors in the street. We met up with Danielle who was spending a long weekend with her mom.  It was nearly midnight when the show was over.  We walked back to the campground where all four of us managed to fit in our little old (“old” being the operative word) camper. Stacy says, “next time we’ll take our camper!” but we talked, laughed and snacked, snacked, talked and laughed all the way coming and going.

As we were coming over Red Hills Parkway on our way to Stacy's we saw a firetruck ahead of us in traffic.  Stacy and Taisley said, "Grandpa, catch up.  Hurry!"  The truck is old and doesn't "catch up" easily, but we realized the firetruck was slowing down (he told us later he saw us coming up behind him).  When we got right next to the big red firetruck, we saw Rick at the wheel ... on his first official day back on fulltime duty after a year recuperating from an on-the-job injury to his foot!  So sorry I didn't think fast enough to grab my camera because he looked really good back at his job until he blew the horn and just about deafened me.

Family Fun in Mexico

After Tucson, we caught up with Kelly and Gary at the Mexican border, then caravanned south for about 2 ½ hours to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico.  In the community, also known as Rocky Point, some 700 Rotarians, family members and friends worked together to finalize about 50 humanitarian service projects during the day.  In the evening, we played in this little resort town, during a unique, week–long Fiesta 2015 District Conference, which RI District 5420’s Governor Mike Wells enthusiastically billed as “the adventure of your Rotary lifetime.”  As it turned out, it really was!!!

For four days we worked from 8 a.m. until whenever (usually about 1 – 2 p.m.) building an approximate 12 x 20’ addition onto the Piñata House.  This little structure is home to a program, which provides a means for earning an income for 15 young people with handicaps (i.e., cerebral palsy, deafness and other health issues).  In Mexico, kids with these kinds of problems are considered to have reached their learning capacity at age 14 … and there are no social programs to provide further options after that.  The Piñata House is a place where they come each day to make piñatas, which are then placed on consignment at various souvenir shops around town so the kids can earn a living of sorts.

Our work crew of about 15 Rotarians, assorted family members and friends were an assortment of “suits” including an attorney and a lawyer (is there a difference?), a CPA, a high school art teacher, a commercial loan banker, a cyber-security systems analyst, a financial planner, a real estate developer, a sign maker, an IT specialist / program management lead; a retired banker, a veterinarian technician-in-training, an author and a writer (not sure of the difference here, either) and a cabinet maker willing to wear the general contractor hat.  Despite our collective lack of experience in the construction trades, this hardy group framed up the addition, wired it for electricity, boxed in windows and doors, put in insulation and sheetrock, and painted every inch of the exterior with at least two coats of bright pink and iridescent teal green paint … and all in nearly 90º temperatures with humidity almost that high!!!  Our work nearly doubled the size of this little “factory” which will mean additional kids will have a place to work.  It was a wonderful project, which is certain to make a real difference in many lives, long after the bright colors fade under the scorching hot Mexican sun.

In a week’s time, these 700 amazing individuals of every age, profession and hometown who took part in District Fiesta 5420 accomplished the following:

·               provided dental care (extractions and fillings) for 293 people

·               built 3 cinderblock houses (which will be completed by others for “gifting” around Christmas time)

·               gifted 4 furnished homes to qualified families in need of safe housing

·               cleaned the hard drives, downloaded appropriate software and donated 65 iMac computers for use in the Escuela de Rotaria Elementary School and another 80 pc’s to Escuela Numero 27 (comparable to a U. S. middle school)

·               landscaped a new dialysis center

·               paid for and delivered an ambulance for the dialysis center (a cost of about $14,000)

·               paid for and delivered 4 school buses

·               created a computer lab with tablets and a flat screen TV for training high school students on the use of technology

·               donated a year’s worth of internet service to these schools

·               donated “a truckload” of school supplies

·               delivered and distributed about 100 t-shirt dresses for little girls, shorts for little boys and a bunch of wooden toys from the Happy Factory in Cedar City

·               built the addition on the Piñata House

·               distributed about 1500 pair of prescription glasses and sunglasses

·               painted the Escuela de Rotario school a beautiful pumpkin orange and installed donated playground equipment for the kids

The rest of our time in Puerto Peñasco was spent playing on the beach, sightseeing, playing Phase 10 and driving the 30-45 minute road trip (maneuvering to avoid potholes big enough to swallow our car) between our project, the conference center and the Mayan Palace where we stayed. 

We had a great time and learned a few things during our big Mexican adventure:

·               a Mexican minute, hour, day or year is an undetermined unit of time which really doesn’t mean anything unless you are an American in a hurry!

·               in Mexico, stop signs are merely suggestions

·               the natives put a hand over their heart when wishing you “Buenos dias, Buenos tardes or Buenos noches” as a promise to the Mayan gods of friendship to and respect for all mankind

·               ice is the rarest of commodities in Mexico

·               stable electrical power is only a possibility – not a reality

·               90% humidity does wonders for your skin, hair and nails, so if you die there you’ll be a beautiful corpse

·               shrimp, fresh from the Sea of Cortez and about the size of your fist, are addictive and fabulously delicious

·               drivers in every country still question the purpose of roundabouts

·               potholes result in a wild ride requiring a kidney belt and a crash helmet

·               air conditioning, which defaults to 66 degrees no matter how hard you try to adjust it, is dang cold!

This week in Mexico really is what Rotary’s motto of “service above self” is all about!  However, working on a good tan while looking forward to a delicious dinner of giant shrimp, and playing in the Sea of Cortez followed by a rousing game of Phase 10 were also nice incentives for completing each day of hard labor.

See "District Fiesta 5420" on the YouTube channel for a fun and festive song and dance routine.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:  Gary found a nice RV park while traveling around the city and suggested we return in a year or two with the rest of the family and their campers!  Whaddya say, everybody? 

Tucson and Tombstone

We had been planning to travel to Mexico with about 300+ members of Rotary District 5420 for more than a year … but it didn’t occur to me to get out my passport until the Monday night of the week we were to leave.  “Good to go,” I confidently thought until Ed – passports in hand – said, “oops, you’ve got a problem.”  Seems my passport was expired a full year ago!!!

After my brief mini-panic attack, I decided we’d just not be able to go … after all, a passport is vital for crossing borders (I’ve personally had some memorable experiences with immigration people … and it wasn’t fun).  But, on Tuesday morning, I woke up with a resolve to find a solution.  My solution was U. S. Senator Mike Lee’s southern Utah representative … my good friend Bette Arial.  She put me in the able hands of Yolanda, the Senator’s Constituent Representative (aka “problem solver extraordinaire”).  Yolie spent about 30 minutes on the phone talking with one government worker after another until she finally connected with my solution … the Western Passport Center in Tucson.

Dropping everything, we loaded the car and headed out … 3 days earlier than we had planned.  My early morning Thursday appointment took the better part of the day, but at 2:30 I had my expedited passport in hand at a cost of only $170 (compared to $135 for a standard passport).

While waiting for Kelly and Gary and with two days to kill before we could get into our condo in Mexico, we decided to explore Tucson and surrounding communities (so, here’s a question … why is it pronounced Too-san when it is spelled Tuck-sun?  Anyone?)  Not much to see in Tucson (except two good movies at a nearby Cinemark Theater) so we decided to drive to Tombstone (about 45 miles SE of Tucson).  Had a great day in this historic Western town, took lots of pictures … and, even got a hug from Wyatt Earp himself.

Next stop … Mexico!

Momma Hurts, Too

It has now been more than thirteen years since that terrible day when we nearly lost Stacy in the emergency room at Dixie Regional Medical Center then watched with fear and trepidation as they flew her off to Salt Lake City to try to save her life as a result of her diagnosis of Valley Fever in the final months of her pregnancy.  I will never forget the pain and concern I was feeling, as her mother, to know her life was in danger and there was nothing I could do about it ... except pray!

Last night, I had those same feelings again when I saw Michael's damaged leg on his Facebook site. He reported to the world (before he even told his mother), the injury required 24 staples to close up the wound caused by a 16" saw blade he says "froze up" when he was cutting lumber at a job site. Of course, he said "it's no big deal" but when I think about the "might-have-beens" of him severing an artery or cutting his leg off entirely, I get those same feelings of panic and fear for my child's life.

We traveled north the week of Memorial Day so I could see Michael’s wound for myself … and as he said, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked on Facebook, but I still think he dodged a bullet. 

Lilly tells visitors in her classroom
all about zebras.

We spent several days helping him finish some projects around the house, cleaning, enjoying time with Lilly, attending her “animal” day program and watching 21 episodes of M*A*S*H because Michael doesn’t have regular TV.  On Friday evening, we met Kelly and Gary for dinner and enjoyed lots of laughter and fun together.  Our plans to leave on Saturday were primarily so we could stop in Payson for the open house of the new temple, but unfortunately about a million other people had the same idea. 

It was fun to spend time with Michael and Lilly.  As we were leaving he thanked us for our help and encouraged us to come back anytime, but was changing the locks on his doors at the same time.  Hmmmm, I wonder – after our 4-day visit - if there is any significance to that gesture.

I love this quote and think it best describes what I as a mother feel when my children are hurting ... or hurt:  “Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children is painful in some way. The emotions, whether they are joy, sorrow, love or pride, are so deep and sharp that in the end they leave you raw, exposed and yes, often in pain. The human heart is not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represents just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.” 
                                                                                                          ― Debra Ginsberg 

Two Miracles in Guyana

Our brother Granger (left), a baptized and endowed member of the Georgetown Branch,
and (right) his brother David Granger, President of Guyana!

Anyone who has ever served in Guyana knows the socialist government of this small South American country has, for many years, restricted the number of foreign missionaries from the LDS Church to 20.  In fact, in about 2008, our missionaries were rounded up and expelled from the country, after spending a night or two in jail.  No doubt, Guyana’s leaders were convinced if they tossed our missionaries out … the Church would cease to exist. 

However, the first of two miracles occurred as the result of the ousting of Mormons from their borders.  When the “foreign” missionaries left Guyana, about 30 young Guyanese members stepped forward and said, “send me … I will serve!”  The result is a growing number of strong members of the Church who are now married and raising strong families who will one day lead the Church … and the country with the wonderful skills they learned in service to their Heavenly Father and His children.

While working in the Georgetown mission office we struggled with the limit on our missionaries.  In the time we served in Guyana, there were five missionary couples (Sappington, Harris, Treseder, Summers and Ricks) which meant half of our contingency were seniors who were not proselyting or teaching.

Several times, we sent member ambassadors to speak to Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar, who had family members in the Church.  We were all hopeful we would have a favorable response, but not so … and many of us were convinced this problem would be with the Guyana Church forever more.

However, in May 2015, elections were held and the surprising victor was David Granger, a member of the People’s National Congress, and the younger brother of our own Brother Frederick Granger … a baptized and endowed member of the Georgetown Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  President Granger is not, himself a member, but he has attended church with his brother and is sympathetic to our needs.

Not long after he took office, President Granger reviewed the Church’s history and status in his country, and, finding no reason to deny the Church’s request, granted an increase in the number of foreign missionaries – from 20 to 60!  Needless to say, everyone was ecstatic.  God, indeed, does move in mysterious ways.  We need only be patient to see how His hand can “move mountains.”  Now we are all eager to see what good will come as a result of the Lord’s granting of this second miracle.

An Easter Family Reunion

Kaytee, Josh and their three beautiful little girls came to St. George for a visit with friends and family, arriving on April 2 and heading home to Anaconda, MT again on April 7.  A short stay for sure, but, oh, so pleasant to see their beautiful faces in person instead of on Skype.  They stayed with Mark and Kim in Hurricane – and we had our mission reunion in Provo on April 3, so our time together was limited, but we managed to squeeze in some time to visit the dinosaur tracks (Adyn’s request), the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve (Grandma’s idea) and an afternoon playing in the water at the very popular St. George Town Square and in the Grandma Closet.  We also enjoyed a family get together with Stacy, Rick and their girls on Wednesday night. 

On Saturday, after our mission reunion in Provo, we celebrated Easter and Lilly’s birthday at Michael’s house in Pleasant Grove where we were joined by David, Jan’L and their three boys – in town for General Conference – and Kelly and Gary who drove down from their Ogden home to be with us.  The cousins enjoyed their time together, swinging on the big tire swing in the back yard and finding eggs left in the grass by the Easter bunny.  It was a pleasant day in which my kids enjoyed being together … catching up, looking back and renewing their sibling rivalry and friendship.  With the exception of Kris (with whom we talked on our way to Provo) it was a lovely weekend in every aspect in the company of 5 of our six kids.  It was “heaven on earth” to be with those we love so dearly – even for only a few hours!!!

WIM Reunion 2015

Our mission reunion, held on Friday, April 3 in Provo, was absolutely wonderful, although it got off to a rough start.

Traffic on the I-15 Southbound was tied up for some reason which postponed our set-up almost until our start time of 5:30 p.m. When Ed and I arrived at 4 p.m., the designated time for our "crew" to show up, no one was there yet.  We waited a few minutes, walked around the locked building looking for someone "official" with a key, but found no one.  Finally, I walked across the street to the only house on the block with a car in the driveway - rang the doorbell and asked the little blond respondent if I could talk to her Daddy who I asked how I could reach the bishop. He said there are two bishops ... which one did I want?  I told him I just needed to get into the building before our RM's showed up.  He smiled ... reached in his pocket and said, "I'm not the bishop but I do have the key!"

The WIM reunion had probably 100 RM’s – including about 15 senior couples - who showed up … and stayed well into the evening.  There was plenty of good food and lots of “joyful noise” in the form of laughter and conversation. When Pdt. Gamiette arrived he said he didn’t have anything prepared so just offered to answer questions.  “How is your family?  Why didn’t the brethren keep the name of the WIM?  How is the S&I program doing in the WIM?” and an assortment of other queries.  He noted Pdt. Meir is the last WIM president … and admitted the administration of the West Indies Mission – with 12 governments, 7 currencies and 5 languages - was “a nightmare” (which those of us who worked in the office already knew). 

He also told us, his job assignment in the Caribbean Area Office changed a few days ago when he stepped down from overseeing S&I to assume responsibilities as the Self-Reliance Coordinator for the Caribbean Area – a job he had prayed about for many months – and for which we are delighted.  In short and among other duties, he will be working with the 44 students (37 in Georgetown and 7 in Berbice) enrolled in the Pathways / BYU Idaho programs in Guyana and many others in the others islands and countries of the Caribbean. 

As we listened to the chatter and the excitement of seeing one another again, I couldn’t help but wonder if this is how heaven will be.  It was delightfully noisy and fun!

By now, the world knows the West Indies Mission is no more!  The mission has been divided, with changes going into effect on July 1, 2015.  Here is the latest information on missionary work in the Caribbean, including which countries / islands belong in which mission from among those (highlighted in blue) which used to make up the West Indies Mission:

Barbados Bridgetown Mission  (formerly WIM)

·                Barbados

·                Grenada

·                St. Lucia

·                St. Vincent

·                St. Martin / Sint Maarten

·                French Guiana

·                Guadeloupe

·                Martinique

Trinidad Port of Spain Mission

·                Trinidad / Tobago

·                Guyana

·                Suriname

·                Aruba

·                Bonaire

·                Curacao