We continue to enjoy serving here in the San Diego Mission
while waiting for our visas. The
missionaries (about 250 of them, 25 senior couples) and all the people we have
met are very kind to us and make us feel welcome. We have found something in common with many
of the other senior missionary couples here including a sister missionary that
I worked with many years ago at ZCMI, a brother missionary that was friends
with our Utah ward member Bob Mouritsen, a couple missionary whose daughter is
in the Bruertons’ (friends in Utah) neighborhood, our mission president and a
couple from Texas that knows Jeff’s sister Karen and her family . The couples serving in the mission office
have been helpful in giving us some training in preparation for India. The
first Monday of each month the senior missionaries get together for Family Home
Evening. In December we gathered at the
Institute building for dinner and a Christmas program.
Our main responsibility is to help current members. One of the members we are working with
joined the church a few years ago. He
moved to San Diego and, for various reasons, stopped coming to church. He has
shared with us that he wants to return to church activity, as he recognizes
that the happiest time of his life was when he was fully involved with the
church. We enjoy helping him come
back. We also have made some visits and
attempted visits to members in our ward that are either new move-ins or haven’t
been seen for awhile. We have helped
some with employment needs. There are
other members we hope to visit in the next few weeks.
Another priority is to invite other people to come unto
Christ and learn about the church. We
love the new 3 minute Christmas video—“He is the Gift”. We have shared it with people we have met and
they have felt the spirit of the message.
We plan to continue to share it over the next few weeks. We invite you all to please discover,
embrace and share it! It is all about
the best gift of Christmas. Click on the link below:
An inspiring moment was when we met a clerk in the grocery
store who after seeing our name tags commented that he had a friend who found
family, which he did not think he had, with the help of our church and
FamilySearch. He actually flew to where
they were and had Thanksgiving dinner with them. We also met a clerk in a sporting goods store
who also agreed to have the missionaries.
Another interesting teaching experience for us was visiting an inmate in
the San Diego County Jail. It was Sue’s
first and Jeff’s second time inside a jail.
The inmate’s fiancĂ© had just joined the church and she wanted him to start
learning about the church.
Unfortunately, they would not allow us to give him a Book of Mormon, but
we were able to teach him some of the basic principles. We will have a Book of Mormon mailed to him,
and then follow-up with some more discussion.
He gets out of prison in January and says he would like to be baptized.
A highlight for us was being able to join with lifetime
friends the Colins for Thanksgiving dinner. They were dear friends and
neighbors of my family when I was a child and have been our friends for more
than 50 years! We enjoyed visiting with
their family and the dinner was a delicious feast! We have also enjoyed going out to lunch with
our cousins who live in the area.
For P-Day activities, we have been able to visit some of
local attractions including The Mormon Battalion Historical site, La Jolla
coves with an abundance of seals, Cabrillo Monument, Point Loma, and Mount Soledad. The San Diego temple grounds are beautifully
decorated for Christmas and offer Christmas concerts every weekend. The Mormon Battalion site will also be having
the 12 days of Christmas with musical presentations every night.
We are so happy being missionaries and our testimonies have
been strengthened witnessing the gospel going forth to all peoples. We have increased in knowledge and love as we
study the Preach my Gospel manual and the scriptures. It is wonderful to be a member of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and to be involved in bearing testimony of
our Savior Jesus Christ. We are truly
blessed!